Five Poems
by Cassady O’Reilly-Hahn
Big Bear Lake
The lake
is full
of dead
ant hills.
The fish
can thrive
at last
no more
of rain
nor sleet
nor snow
to fall
on banks
so dry
by sight
they crack
what leaves
are left
to fall.
They bound
on shores
as wet
as gold
is bright.
Do not
call me
gentle
tonight.
I watch
the sore
grow wide
with arms
as lead
and shot
as death.
The ants
are drowned.
We soon
too soon
follow them
down.
Potato Chips
I crack the bag and immediately the ocean
is all around me. The thick spray of salt
and my mother, tanning just her ankles
under the umbrella with my father.
This is as good a memory as I can get
playing diabetes roulette at a vending machine.
Tastes
A handful of walnuts
A bowl made of glass
Each crunch between my teeth
The warmth of home
Vase
Flower petals
escape
through
my fingers.
She hates
me
and
I don’t
blame her.
Death
is
better than
another white
vase.
Two Friends
1
Thursday—the day gas runs out and the tank must be
refilled. Remember when fifty dollars was a birthday gift
from a wealthy aunt? Now the mid-sized sedan swallows it
along with your evening. I know you aren’t quite worn
dead, but we know what’s coming.
2
The day starts before you
are ready for it. All morning your shoes
are in different places. Fridays are bananas
on the road. Then it’s gone—all work zips by the way a long sentence begins to unravel. You find me at a bar in downtown.
We pretend to sing together; play at karaoke like the movies
then split
an Uber, even though it’s after
3
midnight. I walk back two blocks and get in
my wagon. I coast downhill to save a few coins.
The trouble brews when I hear the wheels creek.
There was a time cars were made with wood.
I neglect both senses and drift aimlessly until I’m home.
BIO: Cassady O’Reilly-Hahn is a poet with an MA from Claremont Graduate University. He is an editor for Foothill: A Poetry Journal that highlights graduate student voices. He works for Deluxe, a company that localizes TV and Film for a global audience. In his free time, Cassady writes Haiku for his personal blog, orhawrites and his Instagram @cassady_orha. Cassady currently lives in Redlands, California, with his wife, Anabelle, and their two pugs, Wyatt and Jasper.