anthony procopio ross / poem

Bad Timeline

I’m certain this is the one

or at least one of the ones a few

nudges off center, the middle being

unimaginably sublime: hot lunch,

a cellphone ringing just for you.

The internet says infinite and

perhaps like the internet: all at once

a jar of hued marbles spilling down

a track. Or, worlds lying flat, others leaning

jack faced to seven, same of suit,

stacked high. Marbles remind

me, looking into their jetsam,

of letters I’ll never send

in the heat of moments.

Worse yet, a flush in hand before 

A bet. The king holding flowers

where a sword is just crude materials,

unforged, in that timeline. He’s all my fathers

holding flowers for all my mothers. 

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Anthony Procopio Ross is a 2025-27 Charlotte Street studio resident based in Kansas City. His poems and photos appear or are forthcoming in publications such as Laurel Review, Wild Roof Journal, MemeZine Lit, and I-70 Review. Anthony has been awarded grants, residencies, and fellowships from organizations including Tallgrass, ArtsKC, and Art Farm Nebraska. He serves as a steward for teens at a local nonprofit and teaches night classes.