John Leonard
Love and Her Father's Liquor Cabinet
Because the ocean was half a world away,
we always put a little something in our lemonade.
We imagined that the suburbs were Paris all summer,
our minds refusing the tired still frames of reality.
There were secrets that the streetlights revealed—
all the promises of youth that we would have to break.
We took those months like pills / laid in ruin by September.
We often put a little too much faith in the lemonade.
Bio
John Leonard is an award-winning writer, educator, and poetry editor for Twyckenham Notes. He holds an M.A. in English from Indiana University. His previous works have appeared in Poetry Quarterly, december, Chiron Review, North Dakota Review, Roanoke Review, Punt Volat, The Windsor Review, Rappahannock Review, Jelly Bucket, Mud Season Review, The Blue Mountain Review, Genre: Urban Arts, Stonecoast Review, and Trailer Park Quarterly. He lives in Elkhart, Indiana with his wife, three cats, and two dogs. You can follow him on Twitter at @jotyleon and @TwyckenhamNotes.