Shadow & Light by Carolynn Kingyens

Shadow:

He once called her
his better half –
before the arrival
of children,
the car payments,
and bankruptcy,
before the sex addiction,
the mistress,
and murder
in the middle of the night –
“a familicide,”
they called it
on the six o’clock news.

It always starts a seed,
a snag, some technicality –
a lust so small
you have to squint
to see it.

Light:

Now the heroes,
those firefighters,
who’d storm
the Twin Towers,
carrying the weight
of breath in tanks,
before climbing
an infinity of stairs
to an awaiting doom.

Or how that rookie cop,
the son of a veteran,
delivered a baby boy
in the backseat
of a beat-up Buick,
outside Vegas,
gently placing the
wet, screaming newborn
inside the warmth
of his coat,
before bringing him
close to the heart.



Carolynn Kingyens’ debut book of poetry, Before the Big Bang Makes a Sound (Kelsay Books), can be ordered through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Greenlight, Book Culture, and Berl’s Brooklyn Poetry Shop. In addition to poetry, Carolynn writes narrative essays, book reviews, micro/flash fiction, and short stories. Her latest short story, "Fast Car," can be read here. She lives in New York City with her husband of almost 21 years, two beautiful, kind daughters, a sweet rescue dog, and a very old, chill cat.