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.  His chapbook, “Do Not Forsake Me,” was published in 2017 and is still available at Finishing Line Press. His first full-length book of poetry, “Hard To Be a Hero,” was published  by Kelsay Press in 2021. Both can be found on Amazon. He’s just finished another, “Small Change.” He lives in Massachusetts.

Renewal

I was in a corner of night
when I first glimpsed you
in your corner of light –
a kind of vision of youth
and beauty, resting your
back against the couch,
rose-colored, quiet, and edgy
with the promise of passion

made real in the back seat
of a car with a broken window
and your corduroy coat chill
in the breeze as we sat close,

and later, when I lay you down,
trembling and fierce,
undraped, unconcealed,
shivering in my hands,
you led me back into dawn.