Kevin McCoy hails from Northern California. He spent several years travelling the world with the Navy before obtaining his MA in English from the University of Aberdeen. His first collection of poems Tea in a Bowl was published by the Unsolicited Press in 2015. He currently lives and works in Colorado.

passing thoughts on a hot day

it is a hot day and i can hear the flies
smacking into the screen door.

buzz – smack – silence.

they won’t get in.
not today.

soft music from the tin speaker
in the kitchen.

why do birds suddenly appear?

and i think its afternoon.

and i think the ceiling fan is busted.

and the coffee is so goddamn hot
and im washing it down with a goddamn
marlboro – sulfur fumes dig talons
into my every cell.

i swim in sweat – the waitress smiles.

is that all youre having is coffee, hun? you
know its fourteen minutes after three – time for pie.

i can hear those flies like freight trains.