Poetry by JC Snyder

adams are ghosts

late hour, woozy with memories
that one adam says are ghosts.

how right he is, adams are vapor.

as are bens and jons
and young shadowy men
drinking too much,
driving too fast.

one adam wraps around a tree before i can tell him
anything, how i have a photo of him with birthday cake
poised waiting on his bottom lip for a sugary kiss

my god, we could have been anything by now
if we weren’t spread out across the sky, still waiting
on kisses from little girls like
dew-tipped grass in a morning chilly, ripe.

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Published by

JC Snyder

Responses

  1. Kathy B. Avatar
    Kathy B.

    I found this startling and interesting, and read it several times. It seemed as though “adam” meant man, which I think is maybe the translation from Hebrew? I'm not sure if the narrator is dead too. But the last stanza conjured up the idea of the dead each becoming stars, and the uncertainties added to the pleasure of the read.

    Reply
  2. Kathy B. Avatar
    Kathy B.

    I found this startling and interesting, and read it several times. It seemed as though “adam” meant man, which I think is maybe the translation from Hebrew? I'm not sure if the narrator is dead too. But the last stanza conjured up the idea of the dead each becoming stars, and the uncertainties added to the pleasure of the read.

    Reply
  3. Jody Costa Avatar
    Jody Costa

    thank you Kathy for your great comment. i like the ambiguity as well and won't spoil it with my take ~ poetry should mean something new for every new person. thank you again for reading!

    Reply
  4. Jody Costa Avatar
    Jody Costa

    thank you Kathy for your great comment. i like the ambiguity as well and won't spoil it with my take ~ poetry should mean something new for every new person. thank you again for reading!

    Reply
  5. seasideauthor Avatar
    seasideauthor

    Our losses are great, there are at least 5 stories
    my mind runs ramped. Do Tell your take, eh?

    Reply
  6. seasideauthor Avatar
    seasideauthor

    Our losses are great, there are at least 5 stories
    my mind runs ramped. Do Tell your take, eh?

    Reply
  7. Jody Costa Avatar
    Jody Costa

    hello seaside. yes the losses are great and they pile up over time. young men and fast cars. the deaths of youth. their younger selves frozen in place waiting, aren't we all sometimes stuck in the past like ghosts on film, waiting. [ghosts on film, a Counting Crows reference i particularly love]

    Reply
  8. Jody Costa Avatar
    Jody Costa

    hello seaside. yes the losses are great and they pile up over time. young men and fast cars. the deaths of youth. their younger selves frozen in place waiting, aren't we all sometimes stuck in the past like ghosts on film, waiting. [ghosts on film, a Counting Crows reference i particularly love]

    Reply

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