Joe Barca

Joe Barca is a poet from New England. He has a partner, two children, and a Wheaten Terrier named Brady. He is a fast talker and a slow runner. He grew up with the Atlantic Ocean at both ends of his street. His father loved boats, so he spent a lot of time on the sea. He is a fan of the Oxford Comma, and he is lobbying to have the em dash added to the keyboard.

Ambulance Boy

As they transported me to a psych hospital,
the doors to the ambulance opened and I ran.

Time passed on iced white trees,
as I stumbled to the middle of the lake.

The water was shallow and my hips were grief.
Police lights flashed while I counted escapes.

They dragged me to the house with no doors
and gave me Rorschach tests. I counted time

on soft white wrists. No priest, no psychiatrist,
no pill could heal me. Four weeks later,

my parents took me home. The world became
three dimensional again. The sun became

a rose, not a revolver. My mother served
fish sticks and French Fries on white paper

plates. I drove my Volkswagen Beetle.
Sunflowers grew. I kissed a girl

and my body was electric.