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You are here: Home / Poetry / The Lost Tongue of St. Niko
The Lost Tongue of St. Niko

Poetry

The Lost Tongue of St. Niko

Dear poet of nooses of sharp okra
& tired trams
			my bones are filled
with wet tobacco & spent coffee grounds
	with the sound of ten thousand
hammers hitting brass in unison

your name hollows space
in the soft-cavity of my mouth
& I have no shape to make			
of your sound
		 forgive me
I have wagered everything
on blowing spring cherries back
into cigarettes that continually
ghost us
                  on soup-thick something
I have once again forgotten to name
out of a deep care for my neighbor

I am as weepy as the soft boiled egg
the aunties fight over as they lose
their dentures & laugh themselves
to death
		a woman is crying for
five marks to get her son on a bus out
of this city that cannot forget the bones
under its streets
			her son is nowhere
to be found	     we are all in on the gig

everything that has not already been promised
is moaning in a warm palm that does not belong
to us 	hiding deep within the calm of our pockets

I watch two teenage girls crush their futures
between two credit cards & blow hope 
for tomorrow into each other’s noses

sweet saint of a poet whose name I discovered
in the ruptured peace between car alarms

rip it out if you must
this long-lunged gospel of grudge

find forgiveness somewhere within us
& let us hang from its long	tender braid

Matt Schroeder is a poet and educator based in southern China. His poetry can be found in Thin Air Magazine, New World Writing, Welter Magazine, and forthcoming from Poet Lore & Eclipse Lit.

Featured Artwork:

The River of Life
Acrylic Painting on Canvas

S.S.Q is a short story writer, novelist, content editor, and artist. She believes art is the best way to express self, and thoughts can be expressed in creative artwork. She studied English Language and Literature and MBA. She enjoys learning new languages and exploring different cultures. As of now, she lives in Istanbul, Turkey, and a few months ago, she was a resident of the beautiful city of Antalya. She escaped the hot sunny days of the prestigious city of Abu Dhabi four years ago, and she is open to new adventures for the coming years!

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