Paul Ilechko

The Molecular Way

Taking the molecular way     the sliced open way
oblivious to the music that detonates within
our quiet brains     steeled and ready for this unintended

camouflage     a quarter century too late     voiceless
in our stark integrity     a pyre of remnants burning at
the edge of vision     deep within this orphaned world

by the river     by the lake     by the estuary
we need immersion to survive     the smoothness
of still air     the animals in their dreaming stillness

clustering beneath the trees     exhaling exhaustion
as if it were a gas     as if it were a periodic element
pushed up against the rows of metals     inert as breath

the forest has expanded as the towns recede     death
provides new spaces between the empty lots     birds
wheel and shriek above a broken perimeter     from above

the streets are veins and arteries     punctured like the lungs
that strain for one more gasp before the expiration date
is reached     before the blood becomes metallic

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Poet and songwriter Paul Ilechko is the author of three chapbooks, most recently Pain Sections (Alien Buddha Press). His work has appeared in a variety of journals, including The Night Heron Barks, Rogue Agent, Ethel, San Pedro River Review, Lullwater Review and Book of Matches. He lives with his partner in Lambertville, NJ.