Poem: Somewhere in the Middle

By Ray McManus

Houses are set in rows
like teeth with yellowed
veneers and the men
wake up to clean their yards
while their wives peer
through bent slats in blinds
to make sure they stay
on task. And they never do.

It’s hard not to stare at people
who don’t live here, their
young fingers tapping on
the dash as they pass through
to turn around, but the men
know that the best way
to avoid seeing dead birds
in a nest is by ignoring them.

Behind the neighborhood,
trees push back the constant
hum of cicadas and mowers,
and the men recognize the tune
as the song they’ve heard
since birth, their bodies
brown from the sun, bent
forward, not listening.

Ray McManus, an associate professor of English at the University of South Carolina Sumter, is the author of four books of poetry including, most recently, “Punch” (2014, Hub City Press.) His poetry has appeared numerous journals, most recently in Blue Collar Review, Barely South, The Pinch, Hayden’s Ferry, and moonShine Review. A teacher of creative writing, Irish literature and Southern literature, McManus also is the creative writing coordinator for the Tri-District Arts Consortium. For more information, check out his website: www.raymcmanuspoetry.com