until copper coats your tongue
until lungs become an anxious eagle
run into it
head down and bull-breathed
turn the body into an act
do not slow your course
slowing allows the tendrils
of doubt to overgrow your assiduity
run with every cell of the body vibrating
and everything beyond spinning
away sorrow
run until there’s nothing left of you
then you’ll discover what
you were running to
is a Pushcart Prize-nominated poet from Houston. He received the 2018 Catherine Case Lubbe Manuscript Prize for his book, The Drawn Cat’s Dream. His work has been published in the Southern Poetry Anthology, The Lily Poetry Review, The Comstock Review, The Oakland Review, and in scores of other publications. He serves as First Vice Chancellor for the National Federation of State Poetry Societies.
