Pictures by Chris P. Poetry by A.J. Huffman
Shooting Dolphins
at the moon through a straw
that’s glued shut isn’t as impossible
as you think. First, don’t,
it’ll make your head hurt. Then
you’ll fall into logic
al debate
and that’s both annoying and time
consuming. Instead, just go
with instinct. Basic
physics implies aquatic mammals
will propel at a much greater rate than
that damning goo can set. And, of course,
focus should really be on flight time
and trajectory. You
wouldn’t want to miss your mark. Too easily
you could hit a shark in this much dark.
The Road to Lightning Road
is a rain-slicked metal gurney piled with perfect
parts, harvested in secreted night. Arranged
and re-arranged, a visceral puzzle, finalized
with a frame of catgut stitches. Pushed to extreme
point of tower, tarped in tinseled web. Piecemealed
fly set for predatory strike. Shadowed forearm
raised in distant holding. Thunderous
countdown: 4 . . .
3 . . .
2 . . .
1 . . . Switch
and light thrown. Collision of words, wished and
released with first unbreathing
motion. It’s alive!
Who’s There
A knock in the night demands. No answer?
The sandman has forsaken this slumber
‘s section. Abandoned,
my mind rages. Throwing itself
through windows and walls. These portals
perceptively clog. Nothing
deters. The rampage reigns. Supreme
in this midnight Hell, I refuse its title:
Queen. So accusatory in its diminutive rating,
even gender-biasing the clouds
who already refuse my decree for cover.
I have chosen
the austerity of anonymity. They cannot
curse what they cannot label.
They think they can
pry my lids closed. I wish them luck.
Hand them chisels.
Their efforts raise an inexhaustive sound track
ed across the moon.
A.J. Huffman has published eleven solo chapbooks and one joint chapbook through various small presses. Her new poetry collection, Another Blood Jet, is now available from Eldritch Press. She has two more poetry collections forthcoming: A Few Bullets Short of Home, from mgv2>publishing and Degeneration, from Pink Girl Ink. She is a Multiple Pushcart Prize nominee, and has published over 2100 poems in various national and international journals, including Labletter, The James Dickey Review, Bone Orchard, EgoPHobia, and Kritya. She is also the founding editor of Kind of a Hurricane Press. www.kindofahurricanepress.com
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