Thaw. By John Greiner

After all of the falling

through the ice 

of March I realized

that there was no purpose

in continuing on,

at least not on foot.

Having seen my lovers

pulled from the lake

when the spring thaw came

I concluded that mermaids 

were the most fabulous 

practitioners of kink

that lust could create.

I wish that I were more daring.

I hold onto my breath too dearly.

John Greiner is a Pushcart Prize nominated writer living in Queens, NY. He was educated at the New School for Social Research.  Greiner's work has appeared in Sand, Empty Mirror, Sensitive Skin, Unarmed, Street Valueand numerous other magazines. His chapbooks, broadsides and collections of poetry and short stories includeTurnstile Burlesque (Crisis Chronicles Press, 2017), The Laundrymen(Wandering Head Press, 2016), Bodega Roses (Good Cop/Bad Cop Press, 2014),Modulation Age (Wandering Head Press, 2012), Shooting Side Glances(ISMs Press, 2011) and Relics From a Hell’s Kitchen Pawn Shop (Ronin Press, 2010). 

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