dark matter somehow stole time (old story, see Homer) a few billion seconds then made believe nothing happened takes a thief to catch . . . wait remember how you stole moments agile and sexy to be alone with ________ babies are born spirited away eras lost Aion disbanded your autobiography cut, rejected for lack of middle chapters true we all seem younger than we are wrinkles botoxed I want to hear who pocketed the theft and what it’s worth now ////////////////

David Appelbaum is a writer who has worked in the university and in publishing, creating Codhill Press. An author of numerous books, articles and poetry, his most recent books include notes on water: an aqueous phenomenology [Monkfish, 2018] and Portuguese Sailor Boy [Black Spring, 2020].