Gerry LaFemina
Umbrella
In this gale, the giant bat of my umbrella flaps furiously. Like an old hurt, it risks tugging me away, the way it overwhelms–how suddenly I dangle from a hook seven stories above the city. All my super hero fantasies proven wrong: I can’t save even myself. The girl stopped on her bicycle, pointing at me doesn't seem amazed or excited but terrified. I'm careening between lampposts and billboards; birds squawk, frightened; then another gust sets me spiraling even higher. Below, nothing but concrete, asphalt, impact. Above, cloud cover lowers its furrowed brow and erupts with lightning. Why should I not let go to gravity.
Gerry LaFemina is the author of several books of poems including 2011's Vanishing Horizon, three books of prose poems, a short story collection, and Clamor, a novel. In 2014 Stephen F. Austin University Press released his newest poetry collection, Little Heretic, and a book of his essays on prosody, Palpable Magic. New work has recently appeared in The Sun, APR, Gettysburg Review and other journals. The recipient of numerous awards and honors, he serves as Executive Director of Poets at Work, directs the Center for Creative Writing at Frostburg State University where he is an associate professor of English, and is a member of the MFA faculty at Carlow University. He divides his time between Maryland and New York.