POETRY BY TOM SNARSKY

TRIGGER WARNING: MENTION OF DYING, MENTION OF ILLNESS, MENTION OF COVID

​Jeanne de Clisson

The ending of Robotech: Battlecry
Isn’t that different from dying
Out at sea, out of food and luck
And meaningful secrets
Like the one the air keeps you from
For as long as your lungs work,
Aren’t voided or deluged
Like Jack Archer’s or a drowned
Pirate’s or the sad
American’s who has progressed to ARDS
But still doesn’t think COVID’s
Real, dies surprised.
When you brought your sons to see
Their father’s head
At the gate, demonstrating
The insufficiency of names, saves
All, a burning quiet
In their hearts the whole ride
Home. The Black Fleet and
The Breviary vying for your soul:
Blood, and illumination.
​

Tom Snarsky is a math teacher who writes poetry. His book Light-Up Swan is forthcoming in 2021 from Ornithopter Press and his pamphlet Complete Sentences is forthcoming from Broken Sleep Books in 2022. You can find him on Twitter & Instagram @TomSnarsky and irl in Bluemont, Virginia, where he and his wife Kristi will be moving to real soon. ​