Embedded Files
planted
the railing has come loose from its mortared mooring
entangled we are being swept along the bricked boulevard
the sea has come loose from its bed of silt
and dead things and bottles of warnings
that litter the underneath
each flower of disbelief has uprooted itself
and is hunting through the shops
even the cartons of milk once tucked
so neatly in the fridge
move in herds along the cliff’s edge
in search of their origin
you stay planted, buried to the knees
in hopes of sprouting, stubborn to the end
for the summer has past and you look ridiculous
in the backyard waving in the wind
waiting for your order of szechuan beef and Diet Coke
to arrive by drone
the relationship diminishing
I hang in void
surrounded by dark energy
stars are distant dust motes
of bare perception
absent sound
only dark stony cold
at home I saw the vibrant
NASA-manufactured hues
nebulae and supernovae
or the fizzing roman candles
we shot off into the wet grass
I can still feel the rumble
of their thunderous escape
when we were old enough
that father let us play with fire
but here in this dead sky
is the average of all existence
and everything I ever knew
the explosive motion
the violent color
the cacophony of voice and engine
the city drew us in
a neutron star of commerce
and strobe-lit party
the mad motley crashing scents of
earth and sweat and garlic all less
than the unseen atom
from where I huddle suspended
in this dim matter this lethe
this way point unremembered
the story I’ve written with my life
the one involving skillsets
and intriguing backstory
involving allies and supporting characters
involving setbacks and triumphs
defeats and misdirection
has begun to lose its thread
the loom has been repossessed
and while floating here in haunting
stillness I roll the loose fiber
like cigarette between now weathered fingers
a new pattern has yet to emerge
golden fruit
do not forgive truly it is not in your power
to forgive in the name of those betrayed at dawn
—Herbert Zibgniew, “The Envoy of Mr. Cogito”
1.
they are pouring the wall again
what is that noxious potion the wizard
in the blue blazer has spilled into the mix
this barrier is more than gravel and limestone
it is lined with more than stiff wire and ugly barb
what is this line on the earth anyway
this damp bank to divide us
2.
have you been child, child removed
from those who birthed you and carried you
from violence into a new land
only to be dropped into cell
into unfamiliar home like barter
like a pawn shuffled on the board
the blunt fingers slide you across squares
how casually the player puts you into play
how valiantly you shield the carved pieces
more powerful, lurking in the back row
such a brave child the world insists
or perhaps it’s more an act
of forgetting, who remembers the pawn
after all, the pawns of dark wood
no longer at play, lining the table’s edge
3.
have you been criminal in name only?
navigating language and their stiff backs
their blinking faces
while you move through their fields
back stiff from lifting the golden fruits
your temporary nature suits them
they call you itinerant here long enough
only to fill their pockets
with your weariness
4.
we will draw a sharp line between meanness
and anger, between cruelty and outrage
these poles opposed
we protect tolerance with voice
love gives birth to witness
you must catalog the stones of hatred
stacked up in the capital like pillar
like altar, divine and imperious, rising
to ward away the displaced
be a furnace of anger and love
smolder hot, be dragon‘s breath
melt away the veil of privilege
Corbett Buchly writes about art and making in his chapbook W/Make (Bottlecap Press). He has published more than 85 poems in various journals, including, Blackbox Manifold, Rio Grande Review, Plainsongs, SLAB, and Barrow Street. He is an alumnus of Texas Christian University and the professional writing program at the University of Southern California. He lives in Northeast Texas with his wife and two fabulous sons.
Copyright © 2026 by Corbett Buchly, all rights reserved. This text may be used and shared in accordance with the fair-use provisions of Copyright law. Archiving, redistribution, or republication of this text on other terms, in any medium, requires the notification of the journal and consent of the author.
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