AMERICA, GASLIGHTER
AMERICA, GASLIGHTER
what would you pay
for remembering?
in the lockdown against death
how much I loved:
night surfing
sexy abecedary
silence
laughter
the junkyard warbler
a bulldozer’s sleep trauma
proof an unknown source sings
in my mouth
in a dark time
broken bell reaching for outer lands
vows to see
ask how are you
hungry reasons for staying
*All words in this poem are taken from titles in the Best American Poetry 2022 anthology, Matthew Zapruder, Guest Editor.
Roberta Hatcher is the author of the chapbook French Lessons (Finishing Line, 2016). Her work has appeared in The Comstock Review, St. Petersburg Review, Storm Cellar, Voices from the Attic, Vox Populi, Yawp and other journals. A professor of French postcolonial studies in a former life, she currently lives in Pittsburgh where she recently retired from training volunteer literacy tutors for a community-based non-profit.
