FEATURED: Walking in the King’s Park and Other Poems
by Michael Stalcup
WALKING IN THE KING’S PARK
Bangkok, Thailand
A monitor lizard drags a mangled fish
onto the pond’s grassy shore and rips
flesh from bursting flesh, flies swarming,
scales glinting, smell repellant.
A pied fantail hops and spreads its feathers
to stir up little critters. “Look what I found!”
my two-year-old son exclaims and runs
to watch it dancing on the grass.
My daughters see for the first time
how rice grows. “In water!?” one shouts
like it’s so silly. Her little sister lingers,
slowly fingering the growing grains,
while people swipe through two-inch boxes,
caged.
STREAM
stream
embraces stone — singing
smoothing
RIVER
the river
writes calligraphy
in canyons
MICHAEL STALCUP
Michael Stalcup is a Thai American poet living in Bangkok, Thailand with his wife and three children. His poetry has been published in Commonweal, First Things, The Lent Project, Presence, and Sojourners. Michael co-leads the PAX Fellowship’s Emerging Writers Cohort as well as Spirit & Scribe, a workshop helping writers to integrate spiritual formation and writing craft. You can find his work and subscribe to his newsletter at michaelstalcup.com.
You can also find Michael here:
Website: https://www.michaelstalcup.com
Substack: https://michaelstalcup.substack.com
Instagram: @michaelstalcup
X: @michael_stalcup