My Thoughts Are Elsewhere

by Ace Boggess

Last night, I broke 
an unopened bottle of pinot noir. 

An accident. It bounced 
in the cabinet like a pinball in slow-mo

before leaning out to land on tiles.
It didn’t shatter but popped a hole 

in the center of the opposite side 
as if a bomb within went off 

or blood eased up & out 
from a gut-shot victim on his back.

I wanted to draw a chalk outline
around the corpse.

I’ll be on my knees,
scrubbing circles

to clear away the stain
for the rest of my life.

---

Ace Boggess is 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.