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, Amethyst, 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.

Before the Storm

The perimeter of evening advances.
Green crickets pulse in the green brush
along the curved, black driveway
leading to the steep street. Rain
starts to stumble from a murky sky.
A few stars sputter through the haze
and as the rain thickens, gutter out.