City Boy

Sleep won’t come
surrounded by the country quiet
rasping against my closed eyelids.
The hush that comforts philosophers and poets
feels to me like drowning in a sea of silence.
Let me hear the predatory growl of buses,
a car radio turned up too loud
or the whine of a motorcycle
revving up to its redline.
These are the sounds of people
awake and adventurous.
feeling the onshore breeze rise and fall.
swirling  it around in their mouths like old Scotch,
tasting the salt and smoke from the beach,
reassuring me that out there
beyond my window,
life is flowing through the streets.

 

paul A. Bluestein is a physician (done practicing), a blues guitar player (still practicing) and a dedicated Scrabble player (yes, ZAX is a word).  He was born and raised in Philadelphia, but has also lived in the Midwest and southern California. He currently lives in Connecticut with his wife and the two dogs who rescued him. Nearby, there is a beach where he can let his mind off the leash to go where it wants. He is grateful that, thus far, it has always come back, sometimes with an interesting idea in its jaws.

Willawaw Journal

Share
Published by
Willawaw Journal

Recent Posts

Willawaw Journal Fall 2024 / Issue 19

‌ Sarah Barton--Zhen Xian Bao 31. Rives BFK, chiyogami, paste paper, origami paper, inks. 10”x…

3 months ago

Notes from the Editor

Dear Readers, I was almost waylaid by a corgi at the market this morning, nearly…

3 months ago

Rose Mary Boehm

The Mood Turns The swifts have weaned their young and those the cat didn’t get…

3 months ago

Ed Brickell

Passing All Understanding We bargain for peace meeting our understanding, Unaware of the need to…

3 months ago

Jeff Burt

Stones Rise Skimming the edge of an esker, gravel crunched by boots, immature red polyps…

3 months ago

John Paul Caponigro

Abandon Ship Every voyage to Antarctica begins with an alarm, for a drill on how…

3 months ago