WINSLOW, MASSACHUSETTS

Glen Vecchione

If I were you I’d climb those trees
if you were someone else I’d want to be him
and take the car to Winslow Massachusetts
like he might but probably won’t
undersea the eels turn on their high beams
and above stars blink left turn only ahead
young mothers play cards on firefly evenings
but daddy’s at the bar explaining himself
now everyone is dead in Winslow Massachusetts
if daddy were you I’d want to be me
your birthstone is sapphire and mine’s topaz
press them together for the color of trees
the ones we could’ve climbed if we were us
before ice threw back the moon.

Glen Vecchione, also writing under the name of Glen Peters, is the author of science, math, and history books that have been translated into several languages and distributed throughout the world. His poetry and short stories appear in Missouri Review, ZYZZYVA, Sequestrum (featured author), Comstock Review, and Main Street Rag. His new work, including a chapbook, is forthcoming from Prairie Schooner, Finishing Line Press, and Rebel Satori. His first novel, Where the Nights Smell Like Bread, was published by Rattling Good Yarns Press in April 2024 and his new novels, The Crows and Fire Exit, are forthcoming from Rebel Satori and will be released in 2026-27. Glen currently divides his time between Palm Desert California, and Umbria, Italy.