by Elyce | Sep 10, 2025 | poems, stories
That’s somewhere my parents never went
The attic-garage-operating room
It’s the place you go to develop your art, rearrange your engine, and survive
My parents didn’t know the sacred grit of a dive bar
My mom and dad never fostered that ache
They didn’t experience the community of ripped upholstery and ashtrays
The map of life led me to these cashed-in, burnt-out venues because it must have understood me
I want to connect with others who are clinging on
Context is everything
Listen
The dive bar is for finding the guy next to you
Giving him a cheers
Lighting his cigarette
Playing his song
And seeing him next Wednesday
by Elyce | May 24, 2025 | poems, stories
He fits in here like this place was built to take his luggage and hand him a room key.
There’s been absolutely no interruption.
It’s been like adding nicer pillows and better towels.
Having him here feels like we got new refrigerator magnets, but these ones have words of encouragement and not casual reasons to give up and find rope.
by Elyce | Feb 12, 2025 | poems
When you speak, Carlene,
it sounds like you’re electrocuting time
In the car, your talking turns thick,
like you’ve smeared it all over the tires
made your voice gargantuan
Carlene,
you rival nature in self-contained story
with a sound of cawing birds or buzzing flies
now glued here forever
to silently gnaw at my memory
by Elyce | Nov 12, 2024 | poems
But this one’s adorable
Like, put a button on it
S.O.S.
Call the cabbage patch committee
It’s baby alphabet
I’ve only ever seen it
once
#dontmissit
by Elyce | Sep 7, 2024 | poems
When you arrived
I poured disappointment all over the table
Drowned the doilies
Drenched the dandelion greens
The frenzy was silent
But the overflow soaked the silverware
It flooded the restaurant
I promise
That bottle got knocked over by accident
by Elyce | Oct 23, 2023 | poems
Mercy…
The golden days have gone dark
Stuffed into the past
Two years of glory gone
An era extinguished
It was an era of unity, when time transformed
When standard public practice paused
and societal expectations evaporated
Rules crumbled
Collaboration constructed a new reality
The world was brand new
(more…)
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