Winner of The Letter Review Prize for Poetry
But, His Clothing is Still There
When time has ripened
and the day’s dying light
is in your favor,
find the key to his armoire.
Stand just so for the gloaming glow
of the waning day
in mother’s full-length mirror.
Try on his abandoned tweed,
segregation’s scent still
in the weave.
Pull his braces up with your thumbs
and let them snap down
on your narrow collar-bone shoulders.
Tones of his lone saxophone recital
at a brown-bag club
will resonate in your ears.
Give his fedora a try.
Lower the brim to hide your eyes.
Go look through the blinds
at the dying light to see
how the sundown town shadows
take their own sweet time
to recede.
E. Doyle-Gillespie is a Baltimore City poet and writer. He holds a BA in History from George Washington University, and a Master of Liberal Arts from Johns Hopkins University. His poems are drawn from his world travel, and his work in education, and law enforcement. These poems represent his fascination with history and culture, and how those forces play roles in the most intimate parts of our lives. His books of poetry include Masala Tea and Oranges, On the Later Addition of Sancho Panza, Socorro Prophecy, Gentrifying the Plague House, and Aerial Act. His most recent title is Father of the Red Grotto Used Bookstore. This year, he was first-place grand-prize winner of the Iridescence Award, the third-place winner of the African Diaspora Award 2024, the third-place winner of the Westmoreland Arts and Heritage Festival, and an honourable mention in the Rhonda Gail Williford award for poetry.