A sunny morning in May. An old man in a black cowboy hat, fishing pole and tackle box in hand, walks down to the wide river, whistling a happy tune. Across the drowsy street, another old man carries a wreath of bright carnations and shiny silk ribbons to the side of a delivery van: “Gone but never forgotten.”

Milenko (Miles) Budimir is the author of two chapbooks; Departures (Burning River) and Rustbelt Romance (deep cleveland). His poems have appeared in a variety of publications including most recently Gasconade Review, Poetrybay, A Race Anthology, Pittsburgh Poetry Review, Great Lakes Review, and The Toledo Free Press, among others. His freelance writing has appeared recently in Balkanist and BELT. He works as a philosophy lecturer and technical writer and editor in the Cleveland area.