Andrew Szilvasy
Algae Growing on the Wall of a Culture Dish
Vaucheria Litorea, too large
a mass to stay submerged underwater,
climbs the walls of my cubic culture dish
to find nutrients and life-giving liquid
to fuel its frail, filamentous body;
just as, on the corner of Pryor and
Cherry, a man I don't know from Adam
sits on a milk crate in a hurricane's
downpour, rain streaming from his tear ducts,
down his cheekbone and beading
conspicuously on lip hair he cannot
shave away, licks his thirsty lips, and
drinks what he knows as,
only unconsciously, lacrimae rerum.
Bio
Andrew teaches British Literature outside of Boston and lives in the city with his wife and two cats. He has work forthcoming in Modern Poetry Quarterly Review. Aside from writing, reading and teaching, Andrew spends his time hiking and brewing beer.