Solvent

By Charles Kell

Open the sill’s eaves.
Swallow a lump in your throat.
Text-message obituary unopened
& still.
To do harm is to remain silent.
Ignore the horse galloping in the wall.
Stack of bills covered in a layer
of grey dust. The song
in your ears can be stopped
with wax, or pink foam plugs
rolled between forefinger & thumb
then shoved in. Hear nothing.
The sky outside is grey.
It will rain tomorrow. It’s raining today.

About the author

Charles Kell

Charles Kell is a PhD student at The University of Rhode Island and associate editor of The
Ocean State Review. His poetry and fiction have appeared in The New Orleans Review, The Saint Ann’s Review, Kestrel, The Pinch, and elsewhere. Cage of Lit Glass, chosen by Kimiko Hahn for the 2018 Autumn House Press Poetry Prize, is forthcoming toward the end of 2019. He teaches in Rhode Island and Connecticut.