Evensong
by Evan Leslie
Hallelujah! How odd – this wild choir
of wincing sirens stung chimes ricocheted
and radiant cries bird songs everywhere
all at once the park at night exultant
but where are the birds though I rake my eyes
through gold-hemmed oaks and the ember-orange sky
I can’t find the chorus until I turn
down the path are boys playing basketball
churning glitter with moths that ruckus hot
sparks in the court lights the seraphim calls
were their winged sneakers’ soles’ whistles and strikes
on wheezing asphalt like falcons peacocks
quick sly sparrows grackles giggling who dart
who dare who drum the air to fly – Amen
Evan Leslie grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and now lives in Houston, Texas, with his husband, Ryan, and their rescue pit bull, Rimbaud (formerly Rambo). A cellist and arts educator, he directs the University of Houston’s Community Arts Programs, the Texas Music Festival, and previously served as Artistic Producer at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. His poems have appeared in The Pinch, Troublemaker Firestarter, and New Verse News.
