Unseen Power of the Delaware Valley
Darin Ciccotelli
A mother’s high heels
gleam with popcorn butter.
From what was decided
the most casual announcements won’t reach anyone.
Hope from phone numbers
sizzles in fingers.
And a shallow bounce
of fun drains the classmate’s courage.
It’s high school and party lines
where no one deprives themselves.
Call this putting laundry
in the room to eavesdrop
where even silence
the dog knows makes
for being scolded.
And the smell of muggy broth
from a neighbor’s kitchen.
I sell fruit door-to-door for the marching band.
The corner creeps their property value
toward drama and fear.
And the British leave Philadelphia marching north.
General Washington chases.
He can’t hear his accent the same.
Darin Ciccotelli has published work in Bennington Review, Conjunctions, Denver Quarterly, Fence, Hayden’s Ferry Review, Subtropics and West Branch and has received a National Endowment of the Arts fellowship. His current manuscript was recently a finalist for the National Poetry Series. He teaches at Soka University of America.
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