"If I Lived In This World" by Mary Ellen Talley

If I Lived In This World

If I lived in this world
doors would open with barnacle keys
and close with hollow glass hearts.
I would sit on a bench in my cloth coat
collecting counter clockwise words
even while lollygagging
to the beat of an amber bird’s heart.

Mary Ellen Talley

Mary Ellen Talley’s poems have recently been published in Raven Chronicles, Banshee, Flatbush Review, and Ekphrastic Review, as well as in anthologies, All We Can Hold and Ice Cream Poems. Her poetry has received two Pushcart Nominations. A chapbook is forthcoming from Finishing Line Press.

Headshot: Courtesy of Mary Ellen Talley

Photo Credit: Staff