Eric Steineger

Returning to a Past I Have Not Known

On the back deck, an iron table where René Char likes to sit
after marching through the Alps. Capitaine Alexandre. There
he sits, usually alone, casually picking the dirt from his boots
with a dagger. Pulls out a green knapsack and a journal. I have
seen him do this from the window, wishing wine in his canteen.
For a second, this yard not a bombed village, but a Parisian café.
He manages a smile, then puts it away to focus on a map now
spread across the table, its coordinates checked by pencil, the
Comprenez-vous? getting nods. August, when the sun is not
insurmountable, only one boy’s urge to walk to the trees
to relieve himself while the great face is talking.

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Eric Steineger teaches English in Nashville. He is the former Senior Poetry Editor of The Citron Review (2012-2022) and his work has been featured in The Los Angeles Review, Waxwing, Ran Off With the Star Bassoon, The Night Heron Barks and other places. Against his better judgment, he is currently training for a Tough Mudder.