UNDERGROUND VOICES MAGAZINE/WILLIAM TAYLOR JR.

WILLIAM TAYLOR JR.

The Only Truth

She is four hundred miles away
and she tells me the people around her
only serve
to make her lonely
and she still feels empty
despite everything she stole
and she says these days she can never get
drunk enough
and she wants me to be there
to watch her sleep
and she wants me to tell her
why 3 a.m.
always seems to
hurt so much
and she wants me to tell her
where the magic of the world
has gone
but I am caught here
helpless in traps
of my own making
and the sadness
in my bones is the only truth
I know.

William Taylor Jr. was born in Bakersfield, California
and currently lives in San Francisco with his wife and
a cat named Trouble. His poetry and stories have appeared
widely in the small press and on the internet. He is the
author of numerous chapbooks and his work has been nominated
for a Pushcart Prize. His latest book is So Much Is Burning
published by sunnyoutside Press. A book of his collected
poems is forthcoming from Centennial Press. He will one
day be the last man in America not to own a cell phone.