Searching for solace in the maelstrom;
Waiting for a flash of harmony.
When the puma sleeps upon Andean limbs,
and mountain lion pounces from Yukon gold,
the panther stalks its prey in Evergladean silence.
Cougar after cougar in midnight black.
Cougar after cougar, stars like incisors fall.
Waiting for a flash of harmony;
Searching for solace in the maelstrom.
Stars like incisors fall to murky hollow death,
And we wonder when the sun will shine
the soul beneath its chicken-shit yellow spine.
And how many miles to stalk through cornfield night
And how many miles to sleep in moonrise glow?
Wading through the harmony of the maelstrom;
Suturing the flash of solace and peace.
At coal dark Klondike winter noon
and glow stick battle of midnight June,
when stars like incisors wake us as we dream
when Milky Way skyline wants for lack of hope
we’ll sit and search for solace in the maelstrom.
Andre F. Peltier (he/him) is a Pushcart and Best of the Net nominated poet and a Lecturer III at Eastern Michigan University where he teaches literature and writing. He lives in Ypsilanti, MI, with his wife and children. His poetry has recently appeared in various publications like CP Quarterly, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Provenance Journal, Lavender and Lime Review, About Place, Novus Review, Fiery Scribe, and Fahmidan Journal, and most recently in Menacing Hedge, The Brazos Review, and Idle Ink. His debut poetry collection, Poplandia, is available from Alien Buddha. He has three collections forthcoming in 2023, Trouble on the Escarpment from Back Room Books, Petoskey Stones from Finishing Line Press, and Ambassador Bridge: Poems from Alien Buddha Press. In his free time, he obsesses over soccer and comic books.
Twitter: @aandrefpeltier
Website: www.andrefpeltier.com
Photography by Anne Leigh Parrish
Rough Diamond Poetry 