It was a song         an obscure song
that came filtering out of the depths
of the unlit places         we had been
sleeping for hours         and as usual
I awoke before you did         you were
still snoring as I left the house
locking the door behind me
I set off walking towards
the town         and that was when I heard
the music         from the open window
of a passing Camaro         a brief blast
of blue-eyed soul music
that had been outdated almost as soon
as it was released         a panegyric to beach life
to a certain kind of love         to a fear
of being left behind         all of these
things at once         and I knew who
the singer was         and where I had heard
it the first time           and that the lights
would not go out in our lifetimes.

~
Bio: Paul Ilechko is the author of “Post Moby” (Sheila-Na-Gig, 2026) and “Fragmentation and Volta” (Gnashing Teeth, 2025). His work has also appeared in many journals, including The Bennington Review, Bear Review, Atlanta Review, Permafrost, and Laurel Review. He reads for Marrow Magazine.