those walkways for the
visually impaired. Their
proximity, their closing
in. Too much for him, still
not quite comfortable with
varieties of bellicose marsh
hen, or appliqué, or the sur-
feit of tourist buses bound

for pedestrian destinations.
Somewhere near the cusp
he paused to shake out the
senses from his snakeskin
handbag, looking for some-
thing to ease the pain with.

…

Mark Young’s most recent book is Songs to Come for the Salamander, Poems 2013-2021, selected & introduced by Thomas Fink, co-published by Meritage Press & Sandy Press.