Circles
Ben Hartman
I used to pick you up and
Swing you around in circles
On the street
In the hallways
Under the streetlights
I could draw circles until the end of time
Like a vulture over its prey
The vulture is fate
The prey is us
A year passes, nearly two
I crossed the sand to greet you
Our smiles spoke for us
The electricity matched the sand
White hot
I drew circles with your body again
A spike in the tide couldn’t divide us
Without hesitation we swept away
Into my blankets
And drew circles around each other
Ten years pass
A stranger to my aged eyes
A crack touches your
Heart as you walk away
Realization strikes my soul
My eyes’ whites wake
“It’s you!”
You circle around
I crash into you
And pick you up
And draw circles with your body again
Twenty years pass
My life’s path has veered elsewhere
You are a beautiful memory
A bird tells me your name and
Tells me you say “hello”
Time stops
Then retreats
Twenty years
Then ten years more
The vulture is us
The prey is fate
My soul circles around the
Sound of your name
I hope you hear my foreign hello
And circle around with a smile
I hope the thought of me still
Sweeps you off your feet
And swings you in circles
So you feel what I feel
Weightless
Flying blinded and fearless
We run circles around each other
So that our connection never ends
Ben Hartman is a graduate from Lawrence University (Appleton, WI) who enjoys writing, hiking, kayaking, and just about anything that will result in an enlightening story or experience. Whether it's an unfamiliar hiking trail, the aisles of a library, or the thoughts within your mind, keep exploring!
Jesse Lee Kercheval is a writer, translator, and graphic artist. Her recent books include the short story collection Underground Women and La crisis es el cuerpo, a bilingual edition of her poetry, translated by Ezequiel Zaidenwerg, published in Argentina by Editorial Bajo la luna. Her recent graphic narratives, comics and art have appeared in Waxwing, The Quarantine Public Library, On the Seawall, Sweet Lit, and New Letters.