Al Ortolani

high on Mt. Sneffels
hikers pass
in deep cloud cover —
no way up or down
without disappearing

poncho over my head
knees to chin
hail rattles the couloir
where I sit
with other stones

AL ORTOLANI’s poetry and reviews have appeared in journals such as Prairie Schooner, New Letters, Word Riot, and the New York Quarterly. His fifth collection of poems, Waving Mustard in Surrender, was released in 2014 from New York Quarterly Books. Currently, he is teaching English in the Kansas City area and serves on the Board of Directors of the Kansas City Writers Place.