Was there a poem I’d like to write 
I sit on the porch and it feels like a poem 

sun beating down beating 
the dog next door beating down 

on the house the man next door 
beating down beads of sweat 

from his face. Give him a minute the man 
sun beating down on his face 

hot and tired give the man a minute 
before asking the man to speak 

speak speak man speak please tell us 
something tell us about your life 

about your birth your upbringing 
tell us man tell us your options

Matthew Stark wrote his first poem while shoveling snow in Monument, Colorado. He recently graduated with an MFA from the University of South Carolina as a James Dickey Fellow. His work appears or is forthcoming in Jasper, Spillway, Cider Press Review, Fall Lines, and JERRY Magazine.