One Poem by Alec Solomita

 

Folies Bergère

 

When I told you

it was over, you froze.

Your lips didn’t tremble.

Your lofty nose

released air almost

like a long whisper.

Your gaze was locked

away and your stillness

felt like you were

planning never to rise

from the vintage

chair, with its red

seat and scrolling

wrought iron back.

 

I stared at the ubiquitous

Manet above the bar

with its busty,

sad bartender.

Avoiding her face,

I studied the champagne

bottles on her right, and tried

to recall the name of the beer

beside them. The one with

the bright triangle on the label.

 

And on her left,

the still lives of blossoms

and oranges,

above her, the cloudy chandelier

and the crowd

in the mirror behind her,

their faces too blurred

for me to locate us.

Alec Solomita is a writer and artist working in the Boston (USA) area. His fiction has appeared in the Southwest Review, The Mississippi Review, Southword Journal, and Peacock, among other publications. He was shortlisted by the Bridport Prize and Southword Journal. His poetry has appeared in Poetica, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Litbreak, Driftwood Press, Anti-Heroin Chic, The Galway Review, The Lake, and elsewhere, including several anthologies. His photographs and drawings can be found in Convivium, Fatal Flaw, Young Ravens Review, Tell-Tale Inklings, and other publications. He took the cover photo and designed the cover of his poetry chapbook, “Do Not Forsake Me,” which was published in 2017. His full-length poetry book, “Hard To Be a Hero,” was just released by Kelsay Books.