Up in Lights (Neon)

Queen of inert gases, no one gets to touch
your outer shell. And yet you’re totally excited
by electrons, and never tire of Vegas, Hollywood,
Times Square. But you can slum
in back alleys, buzzing in and out of bar
signs with missing glass teeth. In truth,
you’re not a mixer, and even though
quite noble, you’re also pretty common—
no one would miss you much if you were gone.
You’re only number ten on the top ten chart
and your place could easily be filled by Argon.









Terry Lucas grew up in New Mexico and has lived in the San Francisco bay area for over a decade. Four times nominated for a Pushcart Prize, his poems have appeared in Green Mountains Review, Great River Review, and Best New Poets 2012, among scores of other magazines and journals. His most recent chapbook, If They Have Ears To Hear, published by Southeast Missouri State University Press, won the 2012 Copperdome Poetry Chapbook Contest. Terry is a 2008 poetry MFA graduate of New England College.