five on one

the hooks have eyes
the eyes have barbs
that watch like
the mona lisa as i
walk across the room

ubiquitous gaze
pursuing eyes
the hooks have strings
the strings have rope
the ropes are woven

of the memories of
apparitions and the silver
silver skin of broken
nebula disintegrating
before us beyond

the blackness
of space and time
we'll have to remain
secretly in love
the idiot kids
chase me down

for playground revenge
five on one five on one
we've been gone
out too long for
the return leg of

(i am the fastest runner
no one punches ghosts
it's science
we'll have to remain
secretly in love)

a round trip to count for much

back to issue

Paul Koniecki's latest book, After Working Hours is being released in July of 2017 from NightBallet Press. Paul hosts Pandora's Box Poetry Showcase at Deep Vellum Books in Dallas, Texas. His chapbook, Reject Convention, was published by Kleft Jaw Press in 2015 and his poems have appeared in a variety of journals and anthologies since 1985. He was chosen for the Ashbery Home School Residency in Hudson, New York in 2016. He wants you to know peanut butter loves you as much as hummus.