ISSN: 1941-4137
POETRY THAT ENACTS THE ARTISTIC AND CREATIVE PURITY OF GLASS
POETRY THAT ENACTS THE ARTISTIC AND CREATIVE PURITY OF GLASS
Author photo by Monica Acosta
CD Eskilson is the author of Scream / Queen (Acre Books, 2025) and the translator of Modern Woman (World Poetry Books, 2026), the 1916 poetry collection by Edith Södergran. They are a recipient of the C.D. Wright / Academy of American Poets Prize and have been nominated for Best of the Net, Best New Poets, and the Pushcart Prize. CD is poetry co-editor at Split Lip Magazine. They were once in a punk band.
The Run
Pershing Square was the center of ‘the Run,’ a circuit of gay-friendly establishments and cruising spots that served in the 1920s through the 1960s as LA’s premier homosexual spot … In 1951, the park was ripped out to make way for a three-level, subterranean parking garage.
— Queer Maps
Have you seen the old photos? That rainforest
island teeming with gray suits and tank tops,
the obscured and faceless all blurred
under palms. Deep shade and hot dark,
slick benches all sticky. Can you picture it?
Encircled by art deco towers, dive donut
shops, hotel bars winking brass — and some
still making do with the metro stop bathroom.
I know I would’ve been soughing in fronds,
overeager and lapping the moon most nights.
I would’ve done anything, honest. Who knows
when my ambition only struts in conditionals.
Have you seen the old photos? The pit left
where boughs hung, jungle razed by the city
for parking. Curing blight meant clearing them out.
What remained: narrow walkways and lawns
under pole lights, pure exposure. Abandonment.
Local news spotlights another big redesign
and developers promise more access for all.
These neighborhood rents, new condos say
who will be welcome. A fence goes up first.
Glass: A Journal of Poetry is published monthly by Glass Poetry Press.
All contents © the author.
All contents © the author.
