It’s a dream without you in it!
We’re all on the other side of the river!
The cheerleaders are here, Jay, listen to their pom-poms!
We want you to swim!
We want your glorious body to arrive again on our shore!
The current is strong but so are you, Jay Anthony!
They’re chanting your name!
They’re spelling it out!
They’re ordering pizza and need to know what you want on it!
Jay! It’s so dark we can’t see our hands!
We’re standing in a black hole without you, Jay!
Swim past the event horizon!
You won’t make it but you must try!
We miss you, we miss you!
Austin Rodenbiker received his MFA in creative writing from the New Writers Project, where he served as poetry editor for Bat City Review. His recent work has appeared in Narrative, the Vassar Review, and Jet Fuel Review, among other zines and broadsides.