The February Editor's Pick Poet is Tony Daly

Please feel free to email Tony at: aldaly13@gmail.com

HESITATION

these hands have done so much
good, but I see them with
​          disgust
​          anger
​          fear
​          remorse
for all the losses they’ve held

I have carried so much
joy in those hands
​          flowers
​          presents
​          wife
​          child
but I fear they never will, again

on them now are so many
layers from this night of hell
​          sweat
​          sand
​          gunpowder
​          blood
I fear they will never come clean

this sandbox does that to
the best of soldiers
welcomed with hostility
woken by concussions
bleed by shrapnel
enveloped by anger
we must respond in kind

if only to live another day
a soldier must
​          react
​          fight
​          kill
​          sacrifice
without hesitation

but I did, and my 
reward is your loss
​          soldier
​          comrade
​          brother
she was but a child
the age of my niece
I hesitated, and now
your blood is another layer
on my hands
your death, another tear
your life, another haunting memory

CREPITATION

I can feel you
​     just not all of you

your heart must be working 
just not well enough 
I kneel—gloved hands locked
left palm on bare chest 
right on back of left
mechanically press and release

You don’t feel like a manikin  
I press—giving pulse
You’re warm where they’re cold 
I press—moving blood  
You’re soft where they’re stiff  
I press—preserving life  
Concentrating solely on you  

I’m two finger widths above 
where your sternum should be 
I press and pray 
you slap my hand away
you don’t 
I should feel your breastbone  
I don't  
I should feel solid ribs 
I don’t  
I press—feeling your  bones 
fracture and rub together
I press—feeling only fluid
You’re distending, swelling

Am I doing anything but
​     preserving your pain?

STANDING ON A BRIDGE

The river flows, carrying me away in its tranquility.
Tensions release and I escape from the every day.
The grind, the loneliness melt away, as thoughts
Disappear, carried beyond the horizon.

She once carried me away in the depths of her eyes.
Sapphire hews mingled with leagues of emerald seas.
Suffocating me in the beauty that eventually swallowed
Me whole and walked me down a sacred isle.

Early and often the calling of patriotism pulled her from me.
Emeralds reappeared in the garb she wore in daylight.
Emptiness proceeded to envelope my life as her calling
Dragged her away to distant lands for months.

Until this day, when the ever feared announcement was proclaimed.
Underneath the folded stars, a gloved hand passed its sympathy.
Ultimately, a husband abandoned to duty and honor is meant
To suffer silently and hold back the tears of love lost.

The river flows, carrying me away in its tranquility.
She once carried me away in the depths of her eyes.
Early and often the calling of patriotism pulled her from me.
Until this day, when the ever feared announcement was proclaimed.

Tony Daly is a Washington DC/Metro Area creative writer. This collection of poems was inspired by his twenty years as a medic in the U.S. Air Force Reserves.

You can find his first eStory “Seelentrager” at Infinity Realms Book Store. He has work recently or soon to be published with Jakob’s Horror Box, Pure Slush, Tigershark, and 0-Dark-Thirty. He also serves as an Associate Editor with Military Experience and the Arts.

For a complete list of his published work, please HERE