come home at eight in the morning
stumble in reggie is lying
in the doorway
half his body inside
half is out
I ask if he had a rough night
he replies it was a dream
he almost died
wonders if I have ever felt
that i was coming close to death
I tell him once or twice
remind him of the failed suicide attempt in 2002
he asks if I called out for god
in the moment that I thought
it was surely all over
tell him “I didn’t”
he crawls the rest of the way inside
says he didn’t either
says he called out for his father
like a scared child
who needed firm comforting
assured him that I knew that feeling
that on occasions
I had expressed that feeling myself
he says he’s alive
it doesn’t matter anymore
that he’s going back to sleep
i tell him g’night
sit down to take my boots off
kid’s mom walks down the hallway
asks who i’m talking to
& if i’m hungry
i’m not
but i eat half a bagel anyway
When not traveling highways across America, Victor Clevenger spends his days in a Madhouse and his nights writing poetry. Selected pieces of his work have appeared in print magazines and journals around the world, as well as at a variety of places online. In 2017, Victor was nominated for the Best of the Net Anthology, as well as a Pushcart Prize. His most recent published collections of poetry include a split book with Tom Farris titled Ginger Roots Are Best Taken Orally (EMP, 2018) and A Finger in the Hornets’ Nest (Red Flag Press, 2018).
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