human pastoral brick

willow-white duck                 the blistered
spigot squirts not only for you
but for my irradiated necktie
& the brick-licking light making
a flower-fortress of bright wire to wander
your wingtips’ flickering basket

marriage sonnet 3

at the beach we grilled various meats
& asparagus & we had a volleyball net
set up in the sand this was after the summer
when we grilled cheap sale oysters on the floor
of your backyard every week before the summer
when we went to every street festival in the city
back when a chosen family was as uncomplicated
as not forgetting the sunscreen or sangria bottles

those zucchini noodle recipes feel far away
like our friends who moved to Florida
they all have kids now who am I kidding same here
don’t make fun of me where can
I be wistful if not the poem?
songs still get sung even if we’re not burning CDs

####KAYAKING IN THE GRAND TETONS

even these cowboys have cabin cruisers
to enjoy after nights of cauldron-cooked pot roast
carrots & potatoes & whiskey guzzled over
past light of every goddamn star in the universe
& o the lavender postcard mountains & o the bellicose
sky & o the fallen dead branches unnavigable dirt
& o the throw blanket stillness of the water & o how
I am as a dying leaf on a freshly transplanted bush offseason
amphitheater for me the mountains lock their knees
for me the water parts underboat for me
the otters frolic vaguely menacing could
they jump who knows how high?

June 8, 2024

About the writer

Chris Corlew is a writer and musician living in Chicago. His work has been published in Cotton Xenomorph, Whisk(e)y Tit, Kicking Your Ass, Cracked.com, and elsewhere. With Bob Sykora, he is the co-host of The Line Break, a podcast about poetry and basketball. With Brendan Johnson, he is one half of Lazy & Entitled, the band that writes novels. You can find more Chris at shipwreckedsailor.substack.com, storiesfromvine.com, or on Bluesky/Twitter @thecorlew.