“Pop” by Benjamin Schmitt

Getting all the feels with SZA tonight

as that rack of wine from yesterday

makes its way through my wrists and ankles

Sometimes a voice

can bury its dead in your heart

there is a benediction of birds in a 

soaring procession of sounds

and a fallen hero enters whose sword flashed

red chills of spinal shadows

to defeat the dragon highway smile

thus you are grateful to have this esteemed stranger

who is now buried alongside

all of your familiar sins

Henceforth there is something of the hero

in what you’ve invited into your dirt

something to remember 

when a lover discovers those emails

when your own child looks deep into your eyes

and despises you

even if it’s just another pop song

especially if it’s just another pop song

When I’m sober

I’m going to take my wife’s hand

and finally do something noble


Benjamin Schmitt is the author of three books, most recently Soundtrack to a Fleeting Masculinity. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in the Antioch Review, The Good Men Project, Hobart, Worcester Review, Columbia Review, and elsewhere. A co-founder of Pacifica Writers’ Workshop, he has also written articles for The Seattle Times and At The Inkwell. He lives in Seattle with his wife and children.

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