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BREAKUP
He never expected this,
never imagined such a precise failure.
He wanted to describe it as unanticipated,
like the rain suddenly falling
through a fine ocean mist
that shattered the placid countenance
into minute eruptions of foam
transforming the sea
into voluminous purple waves
that startled seagulls
standing by the shoreline.
He chose to concoct inane explanations
about what went wrong,
to extract sympathy from those
who listened and watched,
like the angry young groom
left stranded at the alter,
embarrassed and screeching away
in his car, devoid of safety and logic.
It never occurred to him
that it could be so mundane,
typically hopeless yet predictable,
as tedious as a hangnail,
duller than motivational television
on a hot summer afternoon.
In no way could he have envisioned this
inside his home where he sits alone
at the kitchen table
gripping cold morning coffee
in his pajamas at 4 p.m.
FIRST ENCOUNTER
His grandfather’s five-cent store
is where he first felt love
when he moved behind the counter
in which the licorice crawled
that Spring afternoon
after school
toward the pink and blue
bubble-gum wrappers
and gooey tootsie rolls.
Outside the leaves
were pushing through
the branches
still soaked by evening’s drizzle
though the wind
had ushered the clouds away
to allow the sun
its bidding
which it seemed later
was to highlight
the light blond hair
of his classmate
who sauntered in,
her mane gleaming
her breasts breathing,
a distant voice whispering,
“what do I do?”
Michael Keshigian is a performing musician and collegiate music educator in Boston.
His poems and short stories have appeared in numerous print and online journals.
To date, has had 5 chapbooks of poetry published and is a multiple Pushcart Prize nominee.
His latest book, Warm Summer Memories was published this summer by Maverick Duck Press.
His most recent publications include Mannequin Envy, Ibbetson Street, Fairfield Review, Red River Review,
and Sierra Nevada College Review.
Email: Michael Keshigian
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