white-hot space
when you get on
they will be your
long-lost family
crawling out of
woodwork and
claim you to be
leaving them behind
will say don’t trust
them other people
we family just met
will stand real close
to you, a winner
since you discovered
what they had been
searching for but did
not know until you
shared it with us now
everyone wants a piece
they want want want a
piece of you so badly
have no idea what
long journey art is
before any applause
or accolades there
are many hours in
deliberation with craft
digging for gold they
want it shiny & polished
this does not just appear
though it may be magic
each time they will grin ;
play cousins for a minute
paul singleton iii (b. 1982 Fort Campbell, KY) grew up in the Shenandoah Valley town of Staunton, Virginia. He holds a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and an MA from NYU. He is author/illustrator of self-published titles Sometimes Mama’s Just Like That and When My Hero Left. His writing has appeared in Maple Leaf Rag, in NPR’s On Being blog, and in Duke University’s Invisible Bear anthology. Ann Margaret Alonzo, singleton’s musical collaboration with Grace K. Wakeman, released their album Vagabondage in 2016.
