The epiphany comes at midnight.
Everything matters less than you think.
There is more nothing than distant starlight.
Dark Matter is God’s backswing, and here you wait
fumbling to light your one candle, trying to see
the outline of your family in the dark,
passing the lighter, survivors.

Ed McManis’ work has appeared in more than 70 publications including Coolest American Stories 2025. His most recent chapbooks are “The Zombie Family Takes a Selfie” Bottlecap Press, and “Trash Truck 7:38 A.M. (And Other Love Poems”). He, along with his wife, Linda, have published esteemed author Joanne Greenberg’s (I Never Promised You a Rose Garden) latest novel, Jubilee Year.  Little known trivia fact: he holds the outdoor free-throw record at Camp Santa Maria: 67 in a row.