Poetry By James Reitter

r. nial bradshaw CC



Cards on the Table

Two loves lost sit at a kitchen table
of a world forgotten in time. Wood paneling
scales the walls, rust carpet creeps
along the floor under foot, chair, and table leg.
Smiling tomato potholders flank an outdated calendar
on either side, a faux Tiffany shell lamp dangles overhead.

Hope hides her face behind a waterfall of auburn hair
Nor closes his eyes, veiling thoughts
Vitamins on the countertop below
wall-mounted crank pencil sharpener.

Old E 800, three cans of Bud,
a bottle of lime juice, shotglass of tequila.
Double pelican silver ash tray.

Much at stake for this hand.
Nor holds
Hope’s cards
flat face down.

I lost this round twenty or so years later
and am left to hold the deck with just a memory
of when we all had winning hands.



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James Reitter currently teaches English, Creative Writing, Folklore, and Film Studies at Dominican University, New York. He is editor-in-chief of the online literature and arts journal, Masque and Spectacle and has published his own poetry for over three decades. His ekphrastic collection of poetry and art, Scratched Records, was published in 2019 (Alien Buddha Press), and has co-authored two books, Speculative Modernism (2021) and The Spark of Modernism (2023) through McFarland. 
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