By Andre F. Peltier
Hula hoop dreams
radiation nightmares
killing time, killing time.
The lonely gondolier knows
he’s killing time.
The lonely gondolier knows,
as his oar rests
in the fórcola and
he sings
his lonely songs
to lonely lovers,
he’s killing time.
The lonely gondolier
knows his songs go
unremembered
yet he sings them.
Through Venetian canals,
he sings them.
Echoing through
lonely renaissance lagoon,
he sings them.
Over the rooftops,
his songs float upon
ideas of love, affection.
permanence.
Through spaghetti westerns,
his melody remains unheard.
To the untrained ear,
his melody remains unheard.
In European opera houses
where Puccini is loved,
where Verdi is loved,
his melody remains unheard.
And the peninsula too
is lonely.
surrounded by water and
medieval brutes.
The land of Columbus.
Alone on the deck of the
Santa Maria,
he knew loneliness.
a loneliness like
the gondolier.
navigating those watery streets
the gondolier dreams of
hula hoop skies.
Andre F. Peltier (he/him) is a Pushcart and Best of the Net nominated poet and a Lecturer III at Eastern Michigan University where he teaches literature and writing. He lives in Ypsilanti, MI, with his wife and children. His poetry has recently appeared in various publications like CP Quarterly, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Provenance Journal, Lavender and Lime Review, About Place, Novus Review, Fiery Scribe, and Fahmidan Journal, and most recently in Menacing Hedge, The Brazos Review, and Idle Ink. His debut poetry collection, ‘Poplandia’, is available from Alien Buddha Press. He has three collections forthcoming in 2023, ‘Trouble on the Escarpment‘ from Back Room Books, ‘Petoskey Stones’ from Finishing Line Press, and ‘Ambassador Bridge: Poems’ from Alien Buddha Press. In his free time, he obsesses over soccer and comic books. You can find him on Twitter: @aandrefpeltier or at his website: www.andrefpeltier.com
