She needs it taken down; I don’t know how
it got there. Who put it up? She can’t recall.
It’s been affixed for fifteen years—out of the way,
invisible, still the centre of attention.
I want to help, watch a YouTube video.
Apparently, I need a drill & extra thumb.
It’s like an ex who lives nearby, always
watching, being watched. I’m the worst
at mechanical things. I forget how I connected
my last PC but remember the setup for my Atari
in 1980. I was in prison when this TV
ascended the wall as if by a stage magician’s
mastery of levitation, an illusion. Anyway,
I should get back to work & face the situation.
I’m not sure poetry ever solves a problem,
though it offers new ways of looking at
my weaknesses.
Ace Boggess is author of eight books of poetry, most recently Tell Us How to Live (Fernwood Press, 2025) and My Pandemic / Gratitude List (Mōtus Audāx Press, 2025). His writing has appeared in Indiana Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, Hanging Loose, and other journals. An ex-con, he lives in Charleston, West Virginia, where he writes, watches Criterion films, and tries to stay out of trouble. His first short-story collection, Always One Mistake, has just been released from Running Wild Press.