The dew at night in August loses
its steamy sharpness, like bathwater
gone tepid, washing your nape and exposed arms –
a sponge bath by a nurse who’s taken
an interest in a soldier’s body,
both slower and more thorough than called for.
The summer has been repelled. This moraine,
this pile of ice-strewn rocks and moss
and ladies thumbs, with field mice
hiding in every hole, is conquered.
Darkness has won. It always does.
—Charles Bowe
Charles Bowe is a poet and screenwriter in Brooklyn, NY who has also worked as a mental health counselor, video producer, and restaurant manager. He directed music videos for Grant Hart and Stan Ridgway. Recent screenwriting credits include the short films "Late Late," directed by Samrat Chakrabarti, and "Six Women," directed by Teddy Schenck. He is a member of Verbal Supply Company in New York City and blogs about culture and writing at morehastohappen.com.