The chimney too old and corroded to be usable
They told her “don’t let it go to your head”
Egg sandwich with tomatoes and cheddar
Looking through an archway at the angle of a window
Satchel snoring on the kitchen rug
What is it possible to pause for
Inquiry of interruption
This poem was originally published in the Denver Quarterly and is reprinted here with the kind permission of the author.
You can find Caryl Pagel’s book Out of Nowhere into Nothing on our Bookshop site.
Caryl Pagel is the author of the essay collection Out of Nowhere Into Nothing (FC2) and two books of poetry, Twice Told (University of Akron Press, reprint) and Experiments I Should Like Tried at My Own Death (Factory Hollow Press), as well as three chapbooks: Paul Revere’s (Essay Press), Mausoleum (WinterRed Press), and Visions, Crisis Apparitions, and Other Exceptional Experiences (Factory Hollow Press).
Pagel is a co-founder and editor of Rescue Press, a poetry editor at jubilat, and the director of the Cleveland State University Poetry Center.
April 2021
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