The Alleys of Home
It’s not a game
And there are no winners.
The scars alone tell you what awaits you.
The alley is dark.
Waxed papers of pizza roil the shadows
tumbling over scraps of Aristotle, Stephen King,
soiled pages of the Washington Post.
The little light that reaches here
reflects from burned out neon tubes.
I’m coming home before I want to.
We all do.
Jared Smith is the author of sixteen books of poetry. His work has appeared in hundreds of journals and anthologies, as well as stage productions in New York and Illinois. He served on the editorial boards of New York Quarterly, Home Planet News, and Turtle Island Quarterly, and as a Guest Poetry Editor for Pedestal Magazine. He has also served on the boards of various literary non-profits. He is a host of Howard County Poetry and Literary Society (HoCoPoLitSo) in Maryland.
