In the Middle of a Better World: Poems [Paperback]

A poetry collection about gay love, belonging, and being fully seen.

In the Middle of a Better Worldis a queer guide to love and identity, a collection both formally inventive and infused with a bright, shimmering imagination. Part elegy, part battle cry, this highly anticipated new collection by Grant Chemidlin is unabashedly joyous in its exploration of desire, human connection, and community—those we’re born into and those we build ourselves.Grant Chemidlin is the author ofWhat We Lost in the Swamp(Central Avenue Poetry, 2023), a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry. His poems can be found inThe Los Angeles Review,Palette Poetry,The Florida Review,Quarterly West, and theAcademy of American Poets, among other publications. He lives in Los Angeles with his husband and cat. You can find him on IG @grantcpoetry or at grantchemidlin.com.Cruising

Two men meet in the middle
of a secret,

hide behind
the bushes. The trees,

who see no deviance, offer
their trunks for cover.

Two men meet in the middle
of desire, slip out

of their armor, bask
in the unclad sun,

in each other’s arms,
in each other’s tongues.

In the middle
of a better world:

Two men, undone.
Two men, unbelievably soft

when they touch. Even
the stubble-studded chins

are silken moss.
A twig-crack. A gruff shout

in the distance
& two men

disappear.
All that’s left—two hollowed logs

holding their breath

on the forest floor.“'Each boy / has no shadow, in the firelight, dancing, / untethered.' How gloriously free, this image. How vital, to be this free. And how dangerous, to find such freedom, to continue living, dancing, this way. Formally inventive, full of sensual detail and psychological insight, this book examines homophobia, in particular internalized lӷ