ISSN: 1941-4137
POETRY THAT ENACTS THE ARTISTIC AND CREATIVE PURITY OF GLASS
POETRY THAT ENACTS THE ARTISTIC AND CREATIVE PURITY OF GLASS
Neal Allen Shipley (he/him) is a poet living in Colorado with a modest collection of pets and an unhinged collection of plants. His writing has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and can be found in recent issues of &Change, Tough Poets Review, and Vagabond City, among others. Despite the horrors, he loves a fancy hot dog.
Also by Neal Allen Shipley:
Bullet Journal
Crepuscular, adj., the behavior of animals most active at twilight
But like, when did you know?
March 4, 2026
asystole
*
dare I call you my king Midas
beg you touch me again slither
into this skin you cast for me
*
I dare you to come reach down my throat
embalm my lungs my heart
contorts in your palm
*
dare I tell you there is some flesh
yet the space beneath my arms
the small of my back
*
these teeth still enamel
this tongue
knotted muscle
“Asystole” as a medical term is when the heart’s electrical system fails, and blood stops pumping to other organs — also called “flatlining.” “asystole” as a poem started as an aubade, but instead of focusing on the moment where lovers part, I thought it would be fun to write an aubade where at least one lover eggs the other on — says, we’re not done here. I think the speaker of this poem ended up manic, almost too desperate to hold onto the moment, and I really liked how it lived in that space. My friend Nathan calls it the horniest poem I’ve ever written, and he’s probably right.
Glass: A Journal of Poetry is published weekly by Glass Poetry Press.
All contents © the author.
All contents © the author.
