Alan Elyshevitz

Sarajevo, 1914

With the continent
as taut as
a grandfather clock,
a prince of Europe
steps out of his car,
his frown like
an avalanche
of good intentions,
a silver spoon
in quotidian broth.

At a nearby café,
a man puts down
his sandwich, cocks
the hammer of his
napkin and fires.
Each clock from
Sarajevo to Theresienstadt
fails at once:
the shattered wood,
the twisted metal.

Alan Elyshevitz's poems have appeared most recently in FutureCycle Poetry, The Cherry Blossom Review, and Ghoti. In addition, he has published two poetry chapbooks: The Splinter in Passion's Paw (New Spirit) and Theory of Everything (Pudding House). Currently he teaches writing at the Community College of Philadelphia.