in the half light of october laughing
i love your blue shoes
i do not love the chicago transit authority
i dont hate it but these distinctions are crucial
i mean to say i love your blue coat no
the other one with the high collar
and you in the half light of october laughing
in your blue shoes and your blue coat with
the high collar as if
you were suddenly mysteriously
a great blue wing rising off the platform
at the station
away from the blunt crashing spark rattle
of the train
• • •
Charles Talkoff’s short fiction and poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in JMWW, Midway Review, Rumble Fish, 3QR, The Urbanite, Underground Voices, Visions International, Dime Show Review, Dove Tales for Peace, The Pangolin Review, The Scarlet Leaf Review, and Collective Unrest.
He lives in Chicagoland.