Charmed in December

by Alan King

A slight chill, but weather warm
enough to confuse the seasons,
like a man mixing up the names

of his lovers. And something
salacious pulses in the wet air –

the swoosh of wind, like a blown

kiss from glossy lips; or the laughter
of a woman with a childhood urge

to climb trees. She mistook me
for an elm, tugging at my limbs
with a smile.

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Alan King‘s fiction and poems have appeared in the Arabesques Review, Warpland, The Amistad, and Fingernails Across the Chalkboard: Poetry and Prose on HIV/AIDS, among others. A Cave Canem fellow and Vona Alum, his work was also part of Anacostia Exposed, a collaborative exhibit with Irish photographer Mervyn Smyth that showcases the life and energy of Anacostia.

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Back to Issue Two: Winter 2009