Bio: Glen Armstrong (he/him) holds an MFA in English from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and edits a poetry journal called Cruel Garters. His latest book is Night School: Selected Early Poems

Radio Station

Night falls on the radio station,
but its tower stands defiant, neon
call letters stacked, and topped with a crazy 
orange-red planet. I listen while eating
 
blackberry jam and butter on toast – 
a light, late supper – a chunk of salami 
and a beer. Sometimes, the energy
it takes to cling to this rotating
 
hunk of dirt amazes me. Gravity 
isn’t enough. Otis Redding, sometimes, is.
I listen imagining who else might
be out there hearing that same voice, that same
 
broadcast: lovers who will part forever
soon, young fools looking forward to their chance.

Requiem for King Oliver I disassemble each day’s events and put the pieces away as a sniper cases his…