losing our grip on purpose

By Ace Boggess

See the ad online:
Holiday Sale. I’m out the door
as soon as I find my shoes,
off to buy you beat-
up records for a dollar each:
Hendrix, Sting, & Steppenwolf,
Peggy Lee & Three Dog Night.
More. A perfect score,
a haul, a treasure trove
of pennies for the well
of your impractical new love
for vinyl. With the price of LPs,
they might as well be tickets
for travelling into space
on a billionaire’s rocket.
Each fresh purchase
is like the germination
of affection in your eyes,
or like sitting next to you
during a joyful, weepy film
while you streak cheeks
with butter, lifting a hand
to tenderly wipe your tears.

Ace Boggess is the author of six books of poetry, most recently Escape Envy. His writing has appeared in Indiana Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, Notre Dame Review, Hanging Loose, and other journals. An ex-con, he lives in Charleston, West Virginia, where he writes and tries to stay out of trouble. His seventh collection, Tell Us How to Live, is forthcoming in 2024 from Fernwood Press.