Sadar Bechell

Sadar M. Bechell has been a resident of Evanston for the last two years. While he was raised in Chicago, he’s found himself falling in love with the city. He has worked with several local arts organizations, and is currently a college student pursuing a Major in Creative Writing. He’s written poetry since he was in high school, and his favorite poets include Kamilah Aisha Moon and Gwendolyn Brooks. He was inspired to write a poem about Lee Street Beach in Evanston after an impactful experience he had there with a close male friend a few summers ago.

Lee Street Beach

and here you can watch the setting sun’s rays

stretch upon this endless resting lake.

but sitting here, a bird chirps, and my memory echoes back to you

And the pretty view which you make.

was it really two summers ago now

when we promised that we would come here?

and I called to the window outside your house

and you stepped out carrying beer?

my memory favors the senses, more than the words,

we exchanged like parting gifts.

we forgot blankets and laid on the grass

and when I closed my eyes I seemed to drift.

from that night I remember your belt, your lips, and your strong arms

Do you remember my chain, my chest, and my cologne?

who would’ve guessed, that sitting in the grass together,

we were really both just sitting alone.

like the imprints from the grass, or the imminent rise of the waves

does anything grand ever seem to stick?

our love was like the beer, the hours passed us like flowing water

and in the morning, we were sick.

good things don’t last long,

it’s why they’ll try to end a bad show early.

I’m sitting where we were, and the sun is setting,

high above I still hear the birdie.