wildscape. literary journal

i s s u e: 1

// p o e t r y

Apology
by Terry Tierney

You ask me why I comb my hair
now that it’s fallen out
as if the seconds I waste could add up
to something.

I don’t need a reason.

I have no apology
for the frayed hem of my jeans,
the worn hole in my crotch,
the years I tried to escape my clothes
like a god on a binge,
my weak knees and broken arm
from pointing the wrong way
through traffic.

Too late to admit
my thoughts were impure,
not all, just the puckered
scars on my back
from making love to myself
when I thought I could avoid
the darting rabbit
beneath my tires.

about the author // Terry Tierney

Terry Tierney (he/him) is the author of The Poet’s Garage and the novels Lucky Ride and The Bridge on Beer River. His poems appear in The Bellevue Literary Review, Remington Review, Reed Magazine, and Rust + Moth. His poetry book, Why Trees Stay Outside, is coming from Unsolicited Press.

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