One Poem by Alec Solomita

 

In the Garden

 

On the soft slope of lawn

above a wealth of flowers

we started to kiss, Anne and I,

Anne the guide, I the novice.

 

We started to kiss in the quiet,

warm dark, lit only softly

by one or two windows

still live in the house above.

 

At first, all went well,

Anne raising her skirt, and,

with my heel keeping me balanced,

and Anne’s knowing ways,

I was safe inside.

 

All went well, until we started

to move in the ageless fashion

and found that the grade

of the slope impeded

forward motion. So,

as I gently pushed upward,

we began to slip downward

 

And in a few moments,

after my first bold thrust,

we rolled down the slope,

bound together. And

as we landed in the lushness

of peonies, lavender,

and pansies, I gasped,

opening like a blossom.

Alec Solomita is a writer working in Massachusetts. His fiction has appeared in the Southwest Review, Eclectica, The Mississippi Review, and Southword Journal, among other publications. He was shortlisted by the Bridport Prize and Southword Journal. His poetry has appeared in many journals, including the Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Poetica, The Lake, One Art, and several anthologies. His chapbook “Do Not Forsake Me,” was published in 2017 by Finishing Line Press. His full-length poetry book, “Hard To Be a Hero,” was released by Kelsay Books in the spring of 2021. He’s just finished another, titled “Small Change.