Resonance

Vincent Hostak

March 3, 2024

I love to walk the vaulted banks of the old Dry Creek

along the ridge in skewed October light

pushing stones into the morning mud

where they can share a trace of my surprise:

a blissful weakening in my kneecaps

which often holds me steady through the day,

the momentary quickening of my pulse

as my soles sink into a sticky roux.

A prodding pressure hardened each stone slowly,

caused their cool indifference,

ground their hardened edges into curves,

and heaved them into my random route.

They’ll never know the crisp, electric moments

which move a soul toward wonderment,

nor the soft caress of mud around the feet.

Vincent Hostak is a poet, essayist, and media producer. He’s held long-time residences in Austin and Colorado, where he’s also worked in documentary and network television/film production.  His poetry may be found in the print journals Sonder Midwest (#5)/Illinois, The Langdon Review of the Arts in Texas, and the 2022/2023 anthology Lone Star Poetry: Championing Texas Verse, Community and Hunger Relief. He is currently appointed to the 2024 editorial team at Asymptote, an international journal dedicated to the art of English language translations of contemporary world literature.  He’s a two-time Summer Scholar at Naropa University’s Summer Writing Program, directed by Anne Waldman.