He wants to skinny-dip in the Best American pools,
hang out in Best American gay bars
where others dance without him.
He likes to sniff the Best American coffee stains,
run his thumb around their areolas.
Time passed differently in prison: one
year seemed like five or five like one—either/or.
He couldn’t guess that out here volumes
of Greatest Hits might be reduced to a buck
two years (much like twenty) post-release.
The Best American sunsets are so brief,
Best American shark attacks gruesome & quick.
He takes in as many as he can for cheap,
hoping to read the Best American this-&-that, &
someday achieve greatness, too, then be forgotten.
Ace Boggess is author of eight books of poetry, most recently Tell Us How to Live
(Fernwood Press, 2025) and My Pandemic / Gratitude List (Mōtus Audāx Press, 2025).
His writing has appeared in Indiana Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, Hanging
Loose, and other journals. An ex-con, he lives in Charleston, West Virginia, where he
writes, watches Criterion films, and tries to stay out of trouble. His first short-story
collection, Always One Mistake, is forthcoming from Running Wild Press.
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