December 31, 2022
Whiskey
A taunt parsing twilight
To honor
The mirror’s ill pursuit of dress, bourbon
Before epiphany
Marking the likeness of God?
A bloom of soliloquy
In every toast
Imagination shaping its boast
Mystery
Pain, what falls away
Doubts and schemes
Callow liens
Dark sweet blood, coursing rhyme
The soul’s
Early scent of spring.
Neon nights
And sunrise dreams, asking
How wide is lost
How sharp
Our smithereens?
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© the author
by Keith Melton
Keith Melton holds a Master’s Degree in City Planning from Georgia Tech and a BA in Economics and International Studies from the American University. He has recently served as Director of Planning and Program Development for the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Region IV Office (Atlanta). His poems have been published in numerous periodicals including Confrontation, The Miscellany, Kansas Quarterly, Mississippi Review, and Big City Lit.