Scarlet flute
a spy as red
as ruby
floods the room
like gunshot
it’s a bloody mess.
We’ve become expert liars
scholars of deceit;
convinced you to stay
it was never right after that,
sort of like
seeing the sunlight
from a crack
in the living room wall.
Amaryllis hisses
red of a thousand apologies
red of fury
red that seared my eyes
and sent me searching
for a good man
a cool man
to turn me
to the light
or smother me
with his pillow.
Tim Louis Macaluso is an openly gay poet, writer, and award-winning journalist. He has worked in media for much of his career. He was a long-time staff writer for CITY Newspaper in Rochester, NY, where he wrote extensively about education, health care, and local politics. His poetry has appeared in numerous print and online publications.
