THE WILDWOOD DAY
by Allen Shadow
the morning sun bakes
the truncated t-shirt dummies
bulb changers and bicyclists
work the boardwalk
tattooed revelers pinch dead cigarettes
the roller coaster spine
spells the names of dead dreamers
living in the salt air
hovering in the pink and green motel lights
the Wildwood day
the shimmering azure ectoplasm
Allen Shadow is a novelist, fiction writer and poet. His first novel, the literary thriller "Hell City," was published in 2012 by Blue City Media. His poetry has been published widely in the small press, including two chapbooks; the latest: "America, I'll Have My Way With You" (Casa del Pueblo Press, Pueblo, Colorado, 2015). Billy Collins has called Allen's work "Engaging," while Library Journal has cited him for "startling imagery." His writing has also appeared in The New York Times, including a piece that was part of the series "Best of The New York Times 2015." In addition, Allen was the recipient of a literary grant from the New York State Council on the Arts, was co-editor of a literary magazine for the Greene County Council on the Arts, in New York, and was director of several funded reading-series that included writers such as Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, Denise Levertov and Robert Creeley.