One Year Ago

Oozing from my mirror: her essence from one year ago,
when she converted the dust mites into iris blossoms.

On my dresser: her greatest hits, the magic she gave me
twelve months back, when I owed nothing in return.

Inside my head: her vocal chords echoing for the last year,
like she’s pleasing a few thousand at the Met.

On my fridge: a photo of a soprano now absent for a dozen
months, grinning that she can still sail the high ranges.

In my Facebook feed: images of her with superstar legions,
around the world, everywhere, up until 365 days ago.

In my music device: a diva already gone for a year,
off to wail for a hundred black ties in the sky.

On my furniture: what’s left of her scent. A year has past,
but she still sings. Most everything.

I RIDE A BUS TO THE SUBURBS IN THE SEARING HEAT

scorching sun cracks the concrete,
traffic pollution fogs the senses;

I slouch at the back of a graffiti-stained
bus from downtown to the suburbs;

next to me, yelling over his flip-phone,
a drunk berates his girlfriend;

marijuana, body odor and fast-food
wrappers invade my nostrils;

a '60s Mustang honks at a scantily clad
bicyclist outside on the street;

searing heat cuts through the window
and amplifies my melancholy;

I make attempts to capture the
alienation on my smartphone;

in the suburbs, lawns are tidier,
and the bus routes begin to thin;

I arrive at the astral projection class
in the community center;

the teacher, an intruder from the east,
she fuses creativity and mystery;

I grab a seat in the front row,
my melancholy evaporates;

if my physical body can't escape this
wasteland, maybe my astral body can.

Gary Singh is an award-winning travel journalist with a music degree who publishes poetry, paints and exhibits photographs. As a scribe, he's published hundreds of works including newspaper columns, travel essays, art and music criticism, profiles, business journalism, lifestyle articles, poetry and short fiction. He is the author of The San Jose Earthquakes: A Seismic Soccer Legacy, forthcoming from The History Press. Follow him on Twitter: gary_singh or Facebook: gary.singh