Now When, A Poem
Travis Sharp
$6
when the reminder
when the junk mail piles
when the door’s a knockin
when it’s Monday
when the flowers breathe again
when the sound of trees in wind
when the flight gets cancelled
when the present can, in fact, be long
when the sun speaks out
when it snows so early
when there’s cops on every corner
when the metro is locked and guarded
when the escalator gets stuck mid-journey
when there’s another strike
when there’s banners out the windows
when I mean it this time
when the power goes out
when really
when you’re so late again
when the shining is the point
when feelings learn to fester
when the winter market opens
when wind so cold it burns the cheek
when your hair gets tussled
when the grinding labors you
published in Ottawa by above/ground press
March 2026
a/g subscribers receive a complimentary copy
cover image: Bradley W. Johnson, 4th of 7 Days, 7 Pieces (detail)
Travis Sharp is the author of the poetry books Monoculture (Unicorn Press, 2024) and Yes, I Am a Corpse Flower (Knife Fork Book, 2021), a poetry pamphlet, Behind the Poet Reading Their Poem Is a Sign Saying Applause (Knife Fork Book, 2022), and the chapbooks Sinister Queer Agenda (above/ground press, 2018) and One Plus One Is Two Ones (Recreational Resources, 2018). He’s a lecturer in the Department of English at Howard University and is an editor at Essay Press.
This is Sharp's second title with above/ground press, after Sinister Queer Agenda (2018).
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