Joshua Kulseth
LUNCH ON 59TH AND BROADWAY
Stern, silly, or serene under green Columbus
crowds collect in the hotdog summer:
skaters grind to unpolished rock the marble
fountain; a tailored few tuck ties behind
starched shirts, anticipating stains; the old
scold; and a bored police horse snuffs air, whips
the metronome of his black tail.
Like a wilderness
of planets we revolve around a glare: Columbus
thrusting in air—covered in shit, but there,
curious maybe, still serious about his business,
or simply disappointed.
This new world
of sweet nuts and falafel, halal and kebabs,
pickets, bill-posts, and hawkers of knock-off brands
is beautiful, regardless of where he stands.
THE SUNFLOWER PUBLIC HOUSE, BELFAST
It was always a place to get drunk, though
you were more at risk of getting wasted
than you knew. Your picture would be taken,
I’m told, through the cage, to make you think twice
about blowing the place to Kingdom Come.
I stand by the entrance where a sign sweeps loudly
across the wall, No topless bathing: Ulster has suffered
Enough. Some friends have led me here, stopping for a pint,
and to picture myself a stranger, looking like a stranger
maybe in the rewound years when the pub
was half fortress, each new face read as Taig or Prod,
and barflies checking the door in the mirror.
The place is harmless now; a local offers
smokes, points to the camera with a wink and nod.
JOSHUA KULSETH earned his B.A. in English from Clemson University, his M.F.A. in poetry from Hunter College, and his Ph.D. in poetry from Texas Tech University. His poems have appeared and are forthcoming in Tar River Poetry, The Emerson Review, The Worcester Review, Rappahannock Review, The Windhover, and others. His poetry manuscript, Leaving Troy, was shortlisted for the Cider Press Review Publication Competition, and is under contract with Finishing Line Press. He is currently an Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing at Franciscan University of Steubenville.