Sky Gliders
by James J. Siegel
Late August and the evening darkens
the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. The waves
gain momentum and the arcade
is an echo of a ski ball siren.
The rest is silence. The Cyclone
sighs with the wind and the Sky Gliders
are suspend in time or out of time.
Little pink and yellow cars, aquamarine
fastened tight to night clouds.
The changing season always changes
something in me. A twisting grief
like the present spiraling into the past.
Others seem to handle it with ease, simply
floating from one end of a beach to the other,
legs dangling high above surf and sand,
sea lions barking in turn.
From that height all I feel is a cold
dampening of the air, the undeniable
dimming of the sun. All I see
are long shadows stealing shoreline,
the distance to the end closing in.
Soon there will be snow in the Sierras,
king tides slamming into seawalls,
and a chariot of sadness I drive
into the sky past Neptune’s Kingdom,
over the turrets of the Haunted Mansion,
the lonely rooms of the Dream Inn
to sleep in the stars of Orion’s belt
until Winter leaves the station
and sets me down again.
In the Event of My Passing
by James J. Siegel
Bury me in the Presidio Pet Cemetery
where the highway becomes the Golden Gate
and military children said good-bye
to Mr. Iguana and Princess Tuptim.
Let me rest inside the bliss
of a white picket fence
with Bilbo Baggins the white mouse
and Mr. Bird the canary
always and forever watching
flights of clouds coming down
from Marin to Chrissy Field.
Give me the eternal rest
of an afternoon nap,
the warm sun falling on
my gentle breathing, dreaming
sweet rabbit dreams of carrots,
gardens of blueberries and gooseberries,
fields of dandelions that stretch on and on.
Write me an epitaph
fit for something small but loved –
Our Knucklehead
Parakeet to Paradise
Trouble –
He was no trouble
Mr. Twister
He will be in my heart
wherever he goes
About the Author
James J. Siegel is a San Francisco-based poet by way of Toledo, Ohio. For the past twenty years, he has been proud to be an arts organizer in the city. For more than a decade, James has been the host and curator of the Literary Speakeasy show at Martuni’s piano bar, which showcases the amazing talent of poets, authors, and musicians from all over the Bay Area and beyond. He has published two books of poetry, The God of San Francisco (Sibling Rivalry Press) and How Ghosts Travel (Spuyten Duyvill Press). You can find him on Instagram and X – @jamessiegelpoet.
