It starts with a war
Over a piece of candy.
The world’s split open
By the lips of butterflies. We stitch it back together
With bluebirds, pull the ocean
Like a bed sheet back onto the sand.
—I got a job selling two-dollar paper suns
To turn a twenty-five cent profit
And loved on an empty stomach.
Now we have rituals of fish, white wine,
A first name, a look in the eye.
And when there is talk of borders,
We remind each other that one day, one hundred
Years ago—your tomorrow—an orchid went off
In Times Square, in Moscow, a box of chocolates.
A singer and guitar player, Ephraim Scott Sommers has produced three full-length albums of music and toured internationally both as a solo artist and with his band Siko (see-co). Most recently, his poetry has appeared in New Madrid, Versedaily, City Works, and more. His work is forthcoming in Blue Earth Review and Columbia Review.