Silver-tongued he was.
Lies sliding out his mouth
like mercury,
impossible to catch.

Fire so alluring,  red heat
bursting orange, yellow—
hypnotic.
burned fingers and all.

In the cold ash of morning
something like truth
steams the windows,
covered in frost.

Barbra Nightingale’s poems have appeared in numerous poetry journals and anthologies, including Rattle, The Florida Review, Barrow Street, Sacramento Poetry Review, Kalliope, Southern Women’s Review, The Kansas Quarterly, The Mississippi Review, and others. Alphalexia, her newest book is with Finishing Line Press (2017). She has eight other collections of poetry, and a yet unpublished memoir, Husbands and Other Strangers. She’s an Associate Editor with the South Florida Poetry Review, and a professor Emeritus from Broward College. She lives and plays in Hollywood, Florida.