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"Endangered Species" by Marc Swan


Endangered Species

After we watch a right whale—

perhaps for the last time—

flip and roll far beyond

Sandy Neck Beach, we meet

old friends who tell of a man

who told his girlfriend

with moving in plans:

“I’m a one and none kind of guy.”

I remember the man—

think Jack Sprat, his wife

who died, not lean, not mean,

very direct in managing their lives.

He doesn’t yield

even with a new woman—

a caring and attractive older kind.

He isn’t uneducated or filled

with remorse. He’s a man

traveling life without a guide

depending on family and friends

to fill the gaps, care for the dog,

remember things

he hasn’t in a long time.

 

Marc Swan's poems have recently been published or forthcoming in Windsor Review, Gargoyle, Clover, Concho River Review, Verse Daily, among others. today can take your breath away, his fourth collection, was published in 2018 by Sheila-na-gig Editions. He lives with his wife, Dd, in Portland Maine.


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