by Nuala McEvoy
The Night Life of the Working Class
I cannot tell if the dreams I have about work,
so intense, so complicated, are because work
was so important to me or because
it took so much time—years, eight- and twelve-
hour days, weekends and holidays when
I could have been drinking or otherwise
making good use of my time.
I wish I could revise my dreams like poems,
bring dream friends home from work
to talk about more important things
like baseball and old cars we used to own.
But it’s good, I know, I know it’s good
that these dreams are only dreams
and only wish like the song says
they hung the jerk that invented work.
Bruce Parker has published two chapbooks, Ramadan in Summer, (Finishing Line Press, 2022) and Tears for Things (Plan B Press, 2024). He holds a BA in History from the University of Maryland, Far East Division, Okinawa, Japan; and an MA in Secondary Education from the University of New Mexico; and has worked as an ESL teacher, technical editor, and translator. His work appears in Triggerfish Critical Review, The Field Guide, Wild Roof, Cerasus (UK), New American Writing and elsewhere, and is forthcoming in Prairie Schooner.Married to fellow poet and artist Diane Corson, he lives in Portland, Oregon, and is an Associate Editor at Boulevard.
Nuala McEvoy is a self-taught English/Irish artist and writer currently living between Germany and Spain. Nuala paints places she has visited using her memory and her imagination. Nuala has had two exhibitions in Münster, Germany, and is currently preparing an exhibition in London.
nualamcevoy | Instagram | Linktree x @mcevoy_nuala.