Poetry from Cliff Saunders

Photo: Krissia Cruz

On Both Knees

I want to make light bulbs flicker
in every corner of a venerable house.

I want a moth greener than a grocery store
to hold moral high ground. I want to fix

the confusion about salt and the unknown.
I’m not going to blow this, and neither are

caterpillars that pack painful stings.
I’m ready to watch bats catch fire, triggers

fall, and emotions swirl like a dance.
I’m ready for the storm to plunge,

as wicked clocks tick out of tune.
Playing the harmonica on both knees,

I’m filling it with love and darkness.
I’m too busy to play enchanting coda

to shades of gray. I’m nibbling away
at two years of torment, night by night.
.

.

Cliff Saunders has an MFA in Creative Writing from The University of Arizona. His poems have appeared recently in The Wayne Literary Review, Pedestal Magazine, Wilderness House Literary Review, Pinyon, San Pedro River Review, Eratio Poetry Journal, and RipRap Literary Journal. He lives in Myrtle Beach, where he serves as co-coordinator of The Litchfield Tea & Poetry Series.