Mantis 22 (Summer 2024)
dis.orientations
N. T. Chambers
Mistaken Identity
Sometimes, when
the three
hundred or
so miles
of this
mandatory exile
add up to more than
all the icy-planted
rails that tie me
to my
out-of-context self,
memories of hot dog
afternoons with
dazzling sunsets
bring back
nearly
forgotten
emotions that found
some relief
in a suntanned
August evening spirit,
who didn’t quite know
where to begin with me
or how to read
the crossroads look.
Summer came late last year
it was all right -
if anything,
a bit too concerned
with walking on ahead
then looking back
to a someone
who was never
really there.
N.T. CHAMBERS writes about the emotions and experiences intrinsic to human nature. Numerous works have been published in the following magazines: Grassroots, The Banyan Review, Inlandia, The Orchard Poetry Journal, The Decadent Review, Quibble Magazine, Red Coyote, Bluebird Word, Bookends Review, Blaze Vox, Black Coffee, Review, In Parentheses and SBLAAM.