Poetry by Gloria Monaghan

           ​Clinton Steeds CC



The Man Who Did Not Believe in Watches

Set himself on fire
on a dry day in October when the last of the small green leaves 
hung tenacious, and dark branches 
said may I? and can you?

For a minute he let me stay, drifting away
that autumn day after his father hit him senseless,
old familiar betrayal.

Eventually,  went away from all of them in the fire of his mind
internal explosion. 
I’ve seen it before (that is after)
in the vacancy of green eyes; no one there.

Pumpkin, we were all in love once.
Obfuscate the past and you are free.

​

Gloria Monaghan is a Professor of Humanities at Wentworth Institute in Boston. She has published two chapbooks and three books of poetry. Her chapbooks include; Flawed (Finishing Line Press) and Torero (Nixes Mate). Her books of poetry are The Garden (Flutter Press), False Spring (Adelaide), and Hydrangea (Kelsay Books). Her poems have appeared in Alexandria Quarterly, 2River, Adelaide, Aurorean, Chiron, Nixes-Mate, First Literary Review East, among others. In 2018 her poem, “Into Grace” was nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Her book False Spring was nominated for the Griffin Prize.

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