Tag: Robert Lowes

Bookstore Magazines by Robert Lowes

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Bookstore Magazines

The military mags can’t get enough
of Hitler. How many times have I seen him
invade Russia? Their headlines ask, “What if?”
The war he started is covered like a game
of dunks (not Dunkirk), power plays, goal-line
stands. The sports mags flank left on the long rack.
Beneath them: all the covers plastered with guns
and knives, essential hacks for fighting back.

I scan the other side of the rack: A female
pop star gazes from a dozen glossy journals
plus a coloring book for grade-school fans.
Long hair, long legs, a prize for winning the finals
or the final battle, and someone to sell
on defense—smaller Glocks for smaller hands.

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Robert Lowes is a writer in St. Louis, Missouri, whose second collection of poetry, Shocking the Dark (Kelsay Books), was published in April 2024. His first collection, An Honest Hunger (Resource Publications), came out in 2020. His poems have appeared in journals such as The New Republic, Southern Poetry Review, One Art, Tampa Review, The Journal of the American Medical Association, Modern Haiku, and December. He is a journeyman guitarist on a long journey.

Two Haiku by Robert Lowes

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yellow-breasted chat
in my binoculars—
singing for someone else

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empty basketball court
the sun spots up
at the top of the key

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Robert Lowes’s second collection of poetry, Shocking the Dark (Kelsay Books), was published earlier this year. His first collection, An Honest Hunger (Resource Publications), came out in 2020. His poems have appeared in journals such as Southern Poetry Review, The New Republic, Modern Haiku, and December. He is a retired journalist who lives with his wife Saundra in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Lowes has been playing the guitar—electric and acoustic—since 2017. He rocks out in a band called Pink Street.

haiku by Robert Lowes

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frozen ground
pigeons nodding yes
to everything

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Robert Lowes is a writer in St. Louis, Mo, whose first collection of poetry, An Honest Hunger, was published in 2020. His work has appeared in journals such as The New Republic, Southern Poetry Review, Modern Haiku, December, ONE ART, The Christian Century, the American Journal of Poetry, and Tampa Review. Samples of his poetry and journalism are available at robertlowes.com. Lowes also plays rhythm guitar in a band at a local School of Rock program, updating his musical tastes since the British Invasion.

Next Exit by Robert Lowes

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Next Exit

Should I regret my hours on the interstate,
the manic weaving of high-speed metal,
to shop for walking shoes, disrobe for doctors?
Pigeons swirl above the cloverleaf.
A dog carcass stains the asphalt shoulder.
Bumper stickers proclaim schools of thought.

I’m thinking thoughts, slower than the traffic,
shaped like wheels, nickels, puddle-struck ripples,
orbits, the wedding bands of Saturn. Each thought
hides a nucleus, a sweet spot, a seed.
A straight shot to the center pleases me
more than endlessly surfing circumferences.

My white-line fever breaks at thirteen miles.
If I saw flashing lights, I can’t recall.

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Robert Lowes is a writer in St. Louis, Mo, whose first collection of poetry, An Honest Hunger, was published in 2020. His work has appeared in journals such as The New Republic, Southern Poetry Review, December, The Christian Century, the American Journal of Poetry, and Tampa Review. Samples of his poetry and journalism are available at robertlowes.com. Lowes also plays rhythm guitar with whomever has patience with a journeyman musician. He loves the opening chords of David Bowie’s Moonage Daydream.