by Chad W. Lutz

when does
this gall transition
happen

the day
we long
to be
astronauts

morphing
into shift leaders
at the local
café

it’s strange
to think we’d
ever stop yearning
for the things

hiding cavernous
in the pits
of our hearts

the never-ending
pursuit of dreams
shouldn’t stop with
a nine-to-five

its tethers run
deeper than
the blue of
our veins

deeper still
than the will
of our wants

one would hope
but water costs
a buck a bottle

& time doesn’t
slow down for us
to learn the stars

---

Chad W. Lutz is a speedy human born in Akron, Ohio, in 1986, and raised in the neighboring suburb of Stow. Alumna of Kent State University’s English program, Chad earned an MFA in Creative Writing at Mills College and currently serves as an assistant editor for Pretty Owl Poetry. Their writing has been featured in KYSO Flash, Foliate Oak Literary Magazine, Gold Man Review, and Haunted Waters Press, was awarded the 2017 prize in literary fiction by Bacopa Review, and was a nominee for the 2017 Pushcart in poetry.