Joshua Corwin's "12:01 AM"

I can hear the shine in your eyes

on the other end of the telephone.

When I speak like this,

I feel authentic

and not heavy.

I don’t have to tattoo meaning in the air

to know what you mean.

I remember when you first told me…

apropos of nothing…

about the different levels of charitable donation.

I was sitting right across from you — over there.

(You in that armchair, me in this one: our eyes.)

You said there’s the donor who gives large sums

and puts a placard on the wall, signifying

who it’s from;

and then there’s the other one who gives…

but remains anonymous.

Your words hanging like a phantom,

I didn’t have to be who I thought I was;

you were once me,

once where I was…

In that moment, I knew. 

(c) 2019 Joshua Corwin 

                                                

LA native, Joshua Corwin is an emerging poet and a recent graduate from Pitzer College in Claremont, CA with a degree in Mathematics and a minor in Philosophy. His poem 'SALT' is forthcoming (August 31) in Spectrum Publishing, vol. 20, ‘Who's Your Honey?’ Currently, he is working on his first, full-length book, Becoming Vulnerable. Joshua writes to honor his grandpa, Mert, whose last words to him were “Don’t ever stop writing.”