Poems by Joe Albanese

dream, a me

we’re connected – me and me and

me and me

that’s why I’m always there… always

the main player

a dream – just a glimpse into

alternate universes

through a muddled lens i

borrow from myself

another portrayal of the same

characters

plot points differ, the new,

some remain

sometimes close… almost me

… i can feel it

another night another life

from close, bizarre, real… real

there i see me in worlds i fear

in worlds i love then

wake up to

home universe

when alternate versions sleep

through this universe, of this me,

i wonder if they consider it

dream or nightmare

Abandon

By day I could hold my hand

in front of my face as a

calm, flat plane. When suns

die down, a heart earthquakes

out to the limb. Blood freezes

in there and that monkey paw

clenches to jagged nothings.

Tension pops out veiny mountain

ranges ready to erupt. I’m a

puppet all the way to the point

my fingernails shatter to

sprinkles of glass—not that I’ve

never used them to slice away my

untamed thoughts. Then it

quiets down to steady. I’m a

once haunted house that even

ghosts have long ago

abandoned, but the exterior holds

true to form, and no one dares

set foot on my front porch.

About the Poet

Joe Albanese is a writer from New Jersey. His work can be found in publications across the U.S. and in seven other countries. Joe’s novella Smash and Grab (Books to Go Now) was recently published and his novel Caina (Mockingbird Lane Press) will be published in 2018.