Poetry by Andrew Ray Williams

Matthias Ripp CC



​
Checkout Line

Two avocados roll down the belt— 
green and bruised—their skin holding
what softens, darkens.

I set down
milk, bread, aspirin.

The elderly clerk’s breath,
shallow, wheezing,
pulls me into a recent evening
in a darkened hospital room

where a man, ill, sat open-palmed,
looking at me, seemingly
content with his wanting,

and died
into living.





On the Anniversary of Being Sentenced to Widowhood

She sets out two thick-lipped mugs,
makes a pot of coffee,
lights the fireplace,

and stares— 
unblinking— 
into the flames,

chaining herself to their ritual
like an inmate on death row
waiting on a pardon
​
she knows
will never come.​



Andrew Ray Williams is a poet based in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. He holds a PhD from Bangor University (Wales, UK) and is the author of three poetry collections, most recently, A Weathered Ship (2025). His work appears in numerous magazines, journals, and anthologies, including Anti-Heroin Chic, Eunoia Review, Locust Shells Journal, Red Eft Review, The Lake, and tiny wren lit. Connect with him on his website: virginiapoet.com 



Anti-Heroin Chic is a sponsored project of Indolent Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit fiscal sponsor. Please consider making a one-time tax-deductible donation.​

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