Jim Daniels

GOING OUT STAYING IN

I’ve done the math of staying in bed,
begging off the party, my hand covering
my glass, no thanks, I’m okay. Tired
of dubious eyeballs. Time to use the word
crestfallen. Everyone crestfallen, me, them,
the half-tilted bottle, the full-tilted throttle
of party party party. My excuses, well-done,
not half-baked. I’m done, done, done.
I’m seeing it all reflected in the swelling
darkness, the sullen sneer of the street-
light, the tattered missing-pet poster.
I’m missing it all. I stare at the silence
of the beautiful, empty glass.

Author: Jim Daniels

Jim Daniels’ latest poetry collections include Gun/Shy, Wayne State University Press, and a chapbook, The Human Engine at Dawn, Wolfson Press. His next fiction collection, The Luck of the Fall, Michigan State University Press, is forthcoming in fall 2023. A native of Detroit, he lives in Pittsburgh and teaches in the Alma College low-residency MFA program.

Plume: Issue #89 January 2019