Sonnet for Blindness by Paul Ilechko
The tracks we followed had barely left the station
through the frost of morning through
the forest of pine and cedar beneath us
the wood was rotten with spillage but the rails
gleamed with a soft curvature of flame that melted
into light it was the wind holding everything
in place static raptors poised aloft while the man
in my carriage was already sleeping proving
himself unavailable for conversation or consolation
his systems diverted to the work of generating
dreams eyelids flickering in sympathy with
an incoherent plot his blindness no longer
any kind of obstacle his heart beating violently
so heavy as it was nearly too large for his chest.
Poet and songwriter Paul Ilechko lives with his partner in Lambertville, NJ. He is the author of several chapbooks. His work has appeared in a variety of journals, including The Night Heron Barks, Louisiana Literature, Iron Horse Literary Review, Gargoyle Magazine, and Book of Matches. His first album, "Meeting Points", was released in 2021.