As I Grew Old One Night

All the photos emptied
themselves out. My people
slipped through the emulsion
into darkrooms developing
evidence of other senses.
The creek ran dry at the crime
scene. The clink of porcelain
against flatware in a sink
teetering atop a landfill.
The smell of wax and sulfur
in the air on a long gone,
goodbye-less lover’s birthday.

Jason Braun currently teaches English and is the Associate Editor of Sou’wester at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. He hosts “Literature for the Halibut”, a weekly hour-long literary program on KDHX 88.1. He has published fiction, poetry, reported or been featured in Riverfont Times, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, ESPN.com, Drumvoices Revue, Sou’wester, Evergreen Review, Nashville City Paper, Jane Freidman’s blog, and many more.