Boys and girls in America have such a sad time together

I’m mostly unaware but know I can count on you to catch a lie

before it dims the edges of a room--you are a woman

the sun can’t shake. You are a woman who knows 

there are two north stars, one is pale fire the other silent

and only comes out when the night has ripened.

In this town nothing ever really falls down--

the music we dance to is too slow to last. I want you

to tell me a story—how two places can be so alike,

how no one loses faith more than twice in a lifetime.

You tell me birds won’t hear leaves on the trees speak to me-

but they’ll know which light to follow. You tell me nothing

breaks but silence--its sound, the same as falling out of love.

Alex Stolis lives and works in Minneapolis. His previous publications include Red River Review, Snow Monkey, Stirring, Lily, The German Niederngasse, Illya’s Honey, Wicked Alice, Nerve Cowboy, Tryst and Eclectica. He has also been nominated twice for a Pushcart Prize. Chapbooks include: Obsidean Butterflies, 2002; Drowning Ophelia, 2004; The Latest News From Home, 2004; Playing Cards With Houdini, 2005; Winter Solstice (e-book), 2006; The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup (e-book), 2006.