"Into the Land of Nod" by Alex Stolis

Into the Land of Nod

Genesis 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, 

                       and all the host of them

Her smile is a dead end street, 

a door opens, snow 

skitters across hardwood. 

I’m inconspicuously 

armed;

we’re not supposed to be here, 

not flirting, not during Mass. 

I miss the sting, 

that sharp bite right before needle 

hits groove. 

Light bends to her, 

I become a long shadow; 

her breath evaporates.

Into the Land of Nod

Genesis 2:8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; 

                       and there he put the man whom he had formed

The moon is bullet shaped, 

wonder how it might feel 

pressed against my temple. 

My limbs are pitched, nothing 

ever happens here. 

She gives me a sideways wink, 

her shoulder bumps mine; 

wonder what I’m made for, 

wonder if it was a day like today

when men stopped believing in God. 

Into the Land of Nod

Genesis 2:12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium 

                        and the onyx stone

There are other people’s feelings to consider. 

There are saints, traditions, passages with hidden doors. 

There are steps and steps and steps and the dry 

sharp intake of air when we hold our breath. 

She brushes her hair back, touches my hand, 

we’re supposed to be recounting our sins;

all I see is the black edge of her bra strap,

all I feel are the ragged edges of the exit wound.  

Alex Stolis lives in Minneapolis; he has had poems published in numerous journals. Two full length collections Pop. 1280, and John Berryman Died Here were released by Cyberwit and available on Amazon. His work has previously appeared or is forthcoming in Piker’s Press, Jasper's Folly Poetry Journal, Beatnik Cowboy, One Art Poetry, Black Moon Magazine, and Star 82 Review. His chapbook, Postcards from the Knife-Thrower's Wife, was released by Louisiana Literature Press in 2024. http://www.louisianaliterature.org/2024/04/11/new-release-announcement-alex-stolis/ , RIP Winston Smith from Allen Buddha Press 2024, and The Hum of Geometry; The Music of Spheres, 2024 by Bottlecap Press.