Poetry By Alex Missall

Warren LeMay CC



Arch St.

An old friend
waits 

on his idling
motorcycle

after veering 
off the bending,

gravel
ditch-dust

of a town 
road before 

my walking.
We catch up,

here,
at a stop sign

near the beginning 
of Arch St.

Nevertheless,
once he’s pushed 

away, 
I remember

those townhomes
he mentioned

while passing
by a rundown

frontyard,
whose cracked,

and weed-split
driveway, 

reveals
two shirtless kids,

the question    
of their future, 
 
and the time
my friend,

the firebreather, 
blew a shot

of grain alcohol 
from his wordless

mouth
onto the flame  

of a lighter,
charring his wild  

beard a little,
that night, too. 



​Alex Missall studied creative writing at the University of Cincinnati. His poetry collection A Harvest of Days is available through Finishing Line Press. His collection Morning Grift is forthcoming through FLP (September 2026). His poetry collection Summer Town Cosmos is under contract with Kelsay Books. He resides in Ohio. You can find him on X @missall_Poet or at at www.alexmissall.com.
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