The Guitarist by James Steck

alone
drifts up and out from his effort burning
fingers strumming into the blur--

humidity rests on shoulders
like the children above the crowd
gripping their parents’ hair in little fists
curling the song up wordless
like ocean water forcing its
body around theirs
sunlight into aching pupils

the air contributes only
to the movement of the sound
between the strings

as a young girl howls
she feels it
turns to her mom and points;

she is the only one who notices,
through the decaying night
and the saturation,
that dead light in the sky.

James Steck grew up in upstate New York, and now lives in Washington, DC. He teaches high school English and coaches track and field in Fairfax, Virginia. He often draws in relation to his poetry. His writing is influenced by romanticism and realism while focusing on contradictions, the body, and everyday life. You can find his work in The Ugly Writers, The Woove, and The Silhouette Literary and Arts Magazine.