Kyle Tasch’s poems are filled with beautiful and harrowing images that playfully intertwine with the beat and soul of each verse. His use of language and rhythm flows and digs deep into our consciousness as we read every word.
YETI
A sea of snow,
Sits atop the town.
I’m a world away,
Underneath the ground.
I’m in hibernation,
The world keeps going.
Some fires burning.
Some lights a-glowing.
The swirling ice,
More than I can take.
Blue icicles,
Begin to break.
It’s much too cold,
But it’s all we know.
Maybe one last time,
In Chicago.
There’s no relief,
Just sleet and ice.
I got my jacket on,
It will not suffice.
A polar peak,
When will I come down.
We can wait a day,
No one’s one around.
Don’t get caught up in the blizzard,
Try to go about your day.
Don’t get caught up in the blizzard,
You may never get away.
FOX RIVER
And again I’m on the road,
A broken route I tried to track.
Half a pack of broken cigarettes,
Half a bottle in the back.
Can’t see past the line of lights,
Is this a valley or a mound?
What can take me to the interstate?
There’s nobody in this town.
Cold air with a bite of wind,
Something metal bound to break.
Keep thinkin’ that I ought to turn,
Like I’m making some mistake.
Stars dim on a sheet of sky,
Can’t see in all the smoke.
Didn’t know that I’d be riding through,
I was ready when I woke.
Ten roads then I’m all alone.
The Fox River’s on the right.
Black sky when I’m rolling down.
I see the spirits of the night.
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Photos by Lukasz Wierzbowski.