New Poetry by Paul Ilechko

Anthem

I see your fingers     scarred and bandaged

your hands are not the hands belonging to a child

I see your feet     the way in which you spin

the angles of your pointing     I see the way

in which you fell     the silence of it was so very

shocking     I see the flowers bursting into color

you were a visitor here     this was never going

to be your country     you wore the heavy coat

and sang the marching songs     your splendid voice

now quiet     your face the shade of candlewax

looking upwards in your stiff unportioned aspect

locked into a theory of directionless divinity.

- © Paul Ilechko 2022

Paul Ilechko is a Pushcart nominated poet who lives with his partner in Lambertville, NJ. His work has appeared in a variety of journals, including The Night Heron Barks, Tampa Review, Iron Horse Literary Review, Sleet Magazine, and The Inflectionist Review. His first album, "Meeting Points", was released in 2021.