Poetry By Shaylynn Marks

Gerry Dincher CC




Ode to Hagerstown

before bike lanes existed
before cars normalized swiping by over 20 mph

scraped knees we cruised our bikes
through stone alleys, side streets swapping

smiles and hellos down the sidewalk
Ol’ Papa Joe in the rocker, Pall Mall danglin'

lived on his porch in the summer,
threw us Tootsie Pops we’d drop in our baskets

next to our Walkman, pedaling
volume maxed out, zooming so invincible

before we had to ditch the Spice Girls,
before we were forced to twist our heads,

torquing our necks to keep track
of the men who make sport of our fear

sheltered by oak trees, flipping rocks
we befriended snakes and salamanders

those woods we roamed in, sold off
bowled over with an Amazon distribution center

“more jobs,” un-unionized and underpaid
casting $500 fines, 60 jail time if you’re unhoused

oh, my city, my hometown, can’t we 
save people like the fireflies we jumped for 

all those nights after sunset? 
hold them in our hands keep them safe

stop mistaking caring for capture
rip off the lid—their light's not yours to enclose

we’re the kids who’ve come to take our town back
ready to break bones and glass with our old metal bats

strike the county commissioners outta here
till Hub City flickers free again

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Shaylynn Marks is a Poetry MFA student at Hood College. Her work has been published through several journals, including Blood+Honey, and Washington Writers' Publishing House. She was nominated as 2023 Runner-up for Poet of the Year with Poetic Anarchy Press and won 2025 Sass Magazine Readers’ Choice Award for Best Local Author. Check out all her published work on shaylynnmarks.com.