Paul Ilechko
Paul Ilechko is a British American poet and occasional songwriter who lives with his partner in Lambertville, NJ. His work has appeared in many journals, including The Bennington Review, The Night Heron Barks, Atlanta Review, Permafrost, and Pirene’s Fountain. His book Fragmentation and Volta was published in 2025 by Gnashing Teeth Publishing. His next book, Post Moby, is planned for 2026 publication by Sheila-Na-Gig.
Worst Thing
The worst thing that happened
to them was to lose a child
summer faded from view and leaves
fell from the oaks and sycamores
crowding the little churchyard
rain fell in a steady drizzle for days on end
he remembered the time so long ago
when he canoed on the Danube
how the heavy fog concealed the banks
the smell of smoke from farmers
who burned their fields in fall
at times there would be gunfire
in the distance and he was unsure
if it were celebratory or hostile
in his memory he saw his own reflection
in the stillness of deep water
and the face slowly changed
until it became the visage of the child
his wife peered over his shoulder
and said look — the moon is full
tonight and there are no clouds
and the moonlight spun molten silver
across the surface of the river
and the air became a kind of mesh
connecting light to its reflection
and that was the time they realized
the future might still be survived.
