"Tears for Fears" by Susan Barry-Schulz

Tears for Fears

What day is this and what’s happened to all the poems
about the river? And of the round smooth rocks
on the shores of Lake Erie, the hollow sounds
they made coming together under the soles
of our feet, our towels laid out, warmed
by the sun
and later—a bonfire, clink of lips
and bottles colliding, night
swimming, long kisses
lost
in the plaid
flannel lining
of a sleeping bag.

I don’t know.

It’s so quiet here
I can hear the shadows
of unused words gathering like dust
under empty beds.

No damp smoky hair. No smeared
eyeliner. I’ve said good-bye
to the shivery mornings. My shoes
lined up now exactly
where they should be.

Say that you’ll never, never, never,
never need it. Everybody wants
to rule the world.

Susan Barry-Schulz

Susan Barry-Schulz grew up just outside of Buffalo, New York. She is a licensed physical therapist living with chronic illness and an advocate for mental health and reducing stigma in IBD. Her poetry has appeared in New Verse News, SWWIM, Barrelhouse online, Nightingale & Sparrow, Shooter Literary Magazine, Kissing Dynamite, Bending Genres, Feral, Quartet and elsewhere.

Headshot: Susan Barry-Schulz

Photo Credit: Staff