Two Poems

by Ace Boggess

“Has Anyone Had Fun Yet?”

                          question asked by Hayley Mitchell-Haugen

Virus shaped like a disco ball,

hanging distant, its light

paints our bodies in sickly bright dots.

We dance

because music plays loudest in empty rooms.

Virus shines

a spotlight, too, calling us out

for desire, pointing:

You & you & you.

Stopping for Gas

Price so low I would buy more, but where to go?

The virus has shut down avenues,

barricaded boulevards & long blocks of adventure.

Left at the light?

Virus waits like a stern father, porch light on.

Highway heading north?

Virus strobes sapphires, whispers through a bullhorn:

pull the vehicle over. My tank half-full to begin with,

I need the quickie thrill of a clicking pump.

Virus times me lest I’m slow, taps me

on the shoulder, tells me, If you’re ready

to head home, I’ll meet you there.

BIO: Ace Boggess is author of six books of poetry, most recently Escape Envy (Brick Road Poetry Press, 2021). His writing has appeared in Michigan Quarterly Review, Indiana Review, Hanging Loose, and other journals. An ex-con, he lives in Charleston, West Virginia, where he writes and tries to stay out of trouble. His seventh collection, Tell Us How to Live, is forthcoming in 2024 from Fernwood Press.