Jun 30, 2018
LIFE, TIME, & FORTUNE
I have looked out to the ocean and wondered why we ever crawled out,
why, some sunny day, we followed the glistening coin of the sun
out into the air and have not stopped chasing it since. We have been
plagued by an affixation with shining, golden circles, the source of our
prayers and late-night wishes. Even the Aztecs—even J. D. Rockefeller
and J.P. Morgan—spilled blood for it; there is a reason for the distinct
taste of the American penny, the very portrait of Lincoln defiled by metal
So much depends upon your next paycheck and last month’s rent. We toil
our days away in pursuit of Life, Time, & Fortune just to buy them hot off
the press with our leftover change from the meter. We’ve traded our souls to
Henry Luce for a sample, the smallest taste of his monopoly on the American Dream.
If only we had known, we would have stayed in the water where we belong,
holding our breaths at the bottom
of shopping mall fountains,
waiting for the coins to
fall
into our palms.
SPEND A MOMENT IN THIS MOMENT WITH ME
Can the distance of time be measured in glances and lost socks?
A moment only lasts ninety seconds: just a minute and a half.
I’ve heard that the chemical sensation of every emotion only
lasts that long, that every second past that—every first date,
every dance—is a choice. You told me once that we can go
two weeks without a hug before we begin to lose our minds.
I’m not sure what prompts socks to break-up, especially
tonight, but I think after a while they get bored of matching.
Dance with me: the two of us, mismatched lovers, never
meant to be, but without our proper pairs and in a rush to
get out the door. Let’s take everything 90 seconds at a time.
Quinn Carver Johnson and Todd Fuller are co-authors of a poetry collection, Linear. Their separate / poetry / journeys merged after the publication of Fuller’s collection To the Disappearance (Mongrel Empire Press, 2015) in which Fuller’s poem, “An Index of First Lines,” appeared and later served as the creative impetus for the collaboration – through Johnson’s vision. He currently attends Hendrix College (AR) where he is pursuing an English degree. His work has been published in Dragon Poet Review and Right Hand Pointing, with forthcoming work from Nebo and Flint Hills Review. Fuller’s most recent work has been published in Matador Review, Malpais Review, and Cimarron Review.