Where does your shadow
go when you sleep?
Last night mine wandered
an abandoned factory
where broken metal racks
littered floors and glass shelves
were filled with nothing.
Muffled syllables resound
through darkness as
I swallow musty smells
caressing old dust. Suddenly the ceiling
blew a w a y
and bands of light
form a single pole
slender
slippery
speeding to the sun.
Then my shadow
bounced once waking
up inside me
Joan McNerney’s poetry has been included in numerous literary magazines such as Boston Review of the Arts, Kalliope, Mudfish, Spectrum and Word Thursdays. Four of her books have been published by fine literary presses. She has performed at the National Arts Club, Borders Bookstore, McNay Art Institute and other distinguished venues. A recent reading was sponsored by the American Academy of Poetry. Her latest title is Having Lunch with the Sky, A.P.D., Albany, New York.