Valentine’s Day

He reads Denis Johnson poems
in the divorce court waiting area

Incognito Lounge like some new testament
he hears her crying in the next pew

the gavel echoes — he shudders
flees the courtroom

not sure if he seeks salvation
or salvage amid the rubble

months later lost in time’s dismal abyss
he’ll drift down the aisles of a CVS

not remembering why he was there
pluck out a random Hallmark card

believe its embossed epithets
snap like a flashing memory

printed in glossy reds & whites
he holds on too long

still wandering: an angled & faded ex
staring through a tree of smoke

David Colodney realized at an early age that he had no athletic ability whatsoever, so he turned his attention to writing about sports instead of attempting to play them, covering everything from high school flag football to major league baseball for The Miami Herald and The Tampa Tribune. David is the author of the 2020 chapbook Mimeograph. He earned an MFA at Converse College and holds an MA from Nova Southeastern University. David’s poetry has appeared or will appear in a variety of journals including South Carolina Review, Panoply, St Petersburg Review, and The Chaffin Journal. He serves as an associate editor of South Florida Poetry Journal and lives in Boynton Beach, Florida with his wife, three sons, and golden retriever. Read more of David here.