Kyle Vaughn

Vocabulary

When I tried to find the word
for the longing for you alone,
I returned to kindergarten
to gather paper scenes
I had cut in two by accident.

I learned another alphabet
interpreted from the flight of birds
who live in minarets
in a city always at dusk
and who love your natural modesty.

I gave our beginning
a word from the middle of a book
and spun it like a moon
with a desire for an orbit,
a longing for you alone.

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Kyle Vaughn’s poems have appeared in journals and anthologies such as Adbusters, The Boiler, Drunken Boat, Poetry East, Vinyl and Introduction to the Prose Poem (Firewheel Editions). His prose has appeared in English Journal and his photography in Annalemma and Holon. His non-fiction book A New Light in Kalighat, featuring photos and stories about children in the Kalighat red light district in Kolkata, India, was published in 2013 and featured by Nicholas Kristof's Half the Sky Movement. His classroom curriculum book Lightning Paths: 75 Poetry Writing Exercises was released in 2018 (NCTE Books).