Devon Neal | 3 Poems

Here Is a List of Things I Would Do for You If You Asked:

Swim in the lake with only a flashlight until I find your missing earring
Train the cats to use the toilet and flush and also do the laundry
Call that girl from work anonymously and tell her how she treats people
Drive to the nearest country that might have those discontinued boots you loved
Brush your teeth for you so you don’t have to get up from the couch
Drive to the coast of Maine to get you some authentic lobsters
Grab your boss’ boss by his patterned necktie
Fix your relationship with your parents
Go back and punch Greg Adamson in fifth grade
Climb up on the roof and stand on my tiptoes until I grab you a star by its flapping wings

Here is a list of things I will do for you tonight, since you’ve asked:

Pick up an order of Chinese food in the moonlit summer
Sit with you on the couch and look up baby names
Tickle your bare back until you fall asleep

Hero

I don’t know why I feel like such a hero
stepping out into the cold, swirling rain,
my leather driver’s seat like frozen plastic,
just to drive to the small convenience store
to buy you a can of soup and a 20oz soda.
When I text you from the dim fluorescence
of the parking lot, “I love you,” what I mean is
“I would do anything for you,” which could mean
running back into a smoke-choked house,
driving into cold blue-black water,
or maybe wearing the trails of rain
on my glasses like action-star scars.
I may never save you from danger,
carry you from the clutches of death,
but I’ll brave the spears of a sudden snowstorm
to fetch you a bottle of sweet red wine,
or grab a red can of soup for you
while you sit on the couch, life growing inside you.

Broom

Anything can wake a baby
on a blushing spring morning
like the paw of wind
on the bedroom window,
a cat’s quiet pass
in front of the fan,
the whisper of two parents
that still love each other.
that’s why I find myself
outside, broom in the air
swinging at gutter birds
that won’t stop gossiping
to the sky.

Devon Neal (he/him) is a Kentucky-based poet whose work has appeared in many publications, including HAD, Stanchion, Livina Press, The Storms, and The Bombay Lit Mag, and has been nominated for Best of the Net. He currently lives in Bardstown, KY with his wife and three children.