Akiva J. Savett has been published in The Eunoia Review, The Washington Post, Etcetera, and Caesura. He teaches Advanced Placement Literature in Potomac, Maryland. He holds an MA in Literature from University of Delaware and lives in suburban Maryland with his wife and two children.
Seek
A blanket bump on her brother’s bed,
she giggles herself away
in the lingering thrill-tight of almost found.
Stupid on her joy,
I check behind the shower curtain,
under the sink,
in the dictionary under “pelican”
and “sapphire,”
she’s tickled by the ingenuity
of being lost.
I hide beneath my bed,
an old record player wheezing.
A 45 of The Spinners’
“Rubberband Man” isn’t spinning:
guaranteed to blow your mind.
Lord help him get away.
When it’s my turn,
I follow her grooves
in the carpet,
play the song she’s run.
—
With Mastodon You At Reluctant Concert
They stomp to jarring scores,
garage our dance bones.
You look at me between
songs to see if I am carried
away entirely, or piece by please
god don’t let me realize I’m naked
in blue and cave drumming.
I catch your grip go lank
melting into the thrum–
into the raucous tide
we paddle out
to catch particular wave particles,
become fluent in wigwam,
mash our golden maize;
we may sing yet.