PONDERING ANN: VIII – arts, ink.

WERE I TO WAKE

In my memory lives a vast oak

hanging one low, peeled branch— sticking out like a sore thumb

upon which a thrill seeker once tied a muddled rope swing.

My brother who is not my brother

but an old friend tethered at the soul

skips rocks across the bank of the Dead River.

We rode our bikes there after class,

his a rusted Schwinn and mine

a no brand hand-me-down.

There is an innocence in not thinking twice

about whether a thrown stone

might thrash a friend cascading from above.

Some time has passed now

and we haven’t talked in a way that matters

for too long a while.

Were I to wake on this vacant night

it would surely be that I dreamt of the way

two stones never skip the same.

Thomas Griffith

Thomas Griffith, a Yooper turned Wisconsinite turned Wolverine, is a midwestern poet studying Creative Writing and Literature and Political Science. Thomas often finds himself ensnared by the little things, for better or worse, and spends hours finding ways to intertwine these marginal observations with midwestern imagery. No, Thomas does not have a Yooper accent. Yes, Thomas swears Frank Ocean is a poet as much as he is a musician. Thomas' section, "Pondering Ann", seeks to encapsulate the conscious interaction between mind and self within Ann Arbor, offering a glimpse into the momentous intersections of thought and present reality. If he could capture his work in one phrase or sentiment, it would be: "Live a little, but do it in Ann Arbor".

Thomas Griffith

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