Alec Solomita’s fiction has appeared in the Southwest Review, The Mississippi Review, Southword Journal, and The Drum (audio), among other publications. He was shortlisted by the Bridport Prize and Southword Journal. His poetry has appeared in The Ekphrastic Review, Gnashing Teeth Publishing, The Galway Review, Bold + Italic, Litbreak, Subterranean Blue Poetry, The Blue Nib, Red Dirt Forum, and elsewhere as well as in several anthologies. He was longlisted for the erbacce-prize 2020. His chapbook, “Do Not Forsake Me,” was published in 2017 and is still available at Finishing Line Press and Amazon. He lives in Massachusetts, USA.

Long Night

He wakes at five and wonders how
his sheets went through a mangle
while he slept, an anti-mangle
to be precise. What in Yahweh’s
name does he sleeping do
to pull his sheets out of their
tidy corners and drive his blankets
off the bed in disarray?
He pops a couple of Klonopin
and makes his bed again, his hangover
soft and familiar. Six hours later,
he’s up for good, his TLS by his side.
He lights the bedside lamp
and reads all about
the new world
and how he doesn’t fit in.