Alone Now by Carolynn Kingyens

Imagine,
for a moment,
a gang
of brown bulls
raging down
the narrowest street
in Spain –
going ‘round
gouging groins
with devilish horns –
witnesses wincing
at the sight.

Imagine,
for a moment,
being trapped
on a long flight
to Tibet;
a kind stranger
in the seat beside you –
who never shuts up.

By the fifth hour,
your neck begins
to hurt from all
that nodding.

Your normally
warm, genuine
smile begins to
take on the slight,
crazed smirk
of a serial killer’s.

Imagine,
for a moment,
an insomniac
who tells time
by the stations
of the moon;
by shadows
and streetlights.

Imagine,
for a moment,
your head
in your hands.

Imagine,
for a moment,
your shoulders
shaking in grief.

Imagine,
for a moment,
an invisible Jesus
sitting in the empty chair
beside you.

What am I going to do?
You ask Him.

The house –
quiet as a tomb.



Carolynn Kingyens’ debut poetry collection — Before the Big Bang Makes a Sound (Kelsay Books, 2020) — is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and at several independent bookstores in NYC. Today, Carolynn lives in New York City with her husband of 20 years, two beautiful, kind daughters, a sweet rescue dog, and a very old, chill cat.