Ephemera: A Collection of Poems

by Eric Vance Walton

Poetry should move us, it should change us, it should glitch our brains, shift our moods to another frequency. Poetry should evoke feelings of melancholy, whimsy, it should remind us what it feels like to be in love, or cause us to think about something in a completely different way. Poetry, and all art really, is a temporary and fragile bridge between our world and a more pure and refined one. This is a world we could bring into creation if enough of us believed in it. This book is ephemera, destined to end up forgotten, lingering on some dusty shelf or tucked away in a dark attic. Yet the feelings the words evoke, they will live on in memory. I hope these words become a part of you, bubble up into your memory when you least expect them to, and make you feel a little more alive.

From

JUST BEFORE THE CITY WAKES The city hasn’t quite woken and the empty streets, they don’t yet belong to us. Facades gleam in the stillness and the slices of space in between teem with bathing birds, squirrels and rabbits feasting in the golden hour. Just before the city wakes, kitchen fans begin to hum, sweet and low, spewing the scents that will summon the masses to their feet. What a gift this is to witness such a lovely freedom, and to know that nature finds a way to persist in spite of us and will be here long after our last edifice fades away.

~EVW~

Paperback

Published May 24, 2021

About the author

Eric Vance Walton is an American poet, novelist, and essayist whose work moves between literary fiction, poetry, and contemplative nonfiction. A native of Columbus, Ohio, he now lives and writes in Inver Grove Heights,
Minnesota.

He received the 2005 Thurber Treat Prize for his fable The Heiress and the Pea. His poems, essays, and short stories have appeared in literary journals and magazines. He studied fiction, poetry, and independent publishing at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis and completed a short-fiction course with C. Michael Curtis, longtime fiction editor at The Atlantic.

Walton’s books include the dystopian novel Alarm Clock Dawn; the poetry collections Ephemera and Poems from the Edge of the Apocalypse; the mindfulness titles The Perfect Pause and Mindful Moments; and the indie-author guide One Word at a Time. His latest book, Walking With the Muse: A Collection of Short Stories (2026), gathers fiction written across more than thirty years—an intimate record of craft, memory, and a lifelong conversation with inspiration.

When he isn’t writing, he walks wooded trails, travels, drinks very strong coffee, and practices meditation. Find more of his work at ericvancewalton.net.