Michael DeNichola

Jones Beach 2021

At the boardwalk during the wrong

time of year, handling tea that

went long before you had parked

and watched the teenagers, in

their down-feather jackets, bounce

on the wood planks, walk backward

laugh. Maybe it scared you

to see them the same way

it did me, and when the

wind bit into your cheeks

slid between the gaps of your

fist and knuckles, turning some

flesh indigo, you’ll

own the sand, own the

oil tankers and cargo ships

skirting off the horizon.


Michael DeNicola attends Stony Brook University. He studies creative writing and enjoys writing poetry and fiction.