A boy in a fireman’s coat, first chair
French horn, Kurt Cobain handwriting, his back
to the teacher, fingernails painted black.
Dark hair a crown of curls, his eyes a pair
of light-colored M&Ms. On the stair
between class, we swapped treasures—a thumbtack,
an acorn, a feather, a tattered jack
of hearts, a library book, a prayer
card from a funeral—a life lost too
soon. Lord, let my soul rise up to meet you—
 
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Kimberly Ann Southwick is the founder and editor in chief of the biannual print literary arts journal Gigantic Sequins. Her poetry chapbook efs & vees will be out summer 2015. She currently lives in Philadelphia.
 
“Near sonnet for my hometown” was originally published in John le Carré (TLR, Winter 2015).