Childhood Memories of Sulphur Springs, Ohio
I wrap the old floorboards of my childhood home
around me to keep warm. The pain of nails digging into my back
and the splinters combing my hair bring on dreams
of stillborn fawns rolling down steep hills into sulfur rivers,
of thirsty men swimming in coal fires,
of women pulling large loaves of bread out of the ground,
of eyeless children smiling at a solar eclipse without a care in the world.
The End of Winter
The nights grow shorter.
How many stars will be added
to the infinite list of the dead
by morning? More than there are
atoms in my body and yours
together. Their absence
will go unnoticed in our lifetime,
like secrets we keep from each other
until the heat consumes us.
Tonight we are still alive,
but the dead swarm around us
attracted by our light.
Kip Knott lives in Delaware, Ohio, with his wife and son, two dogs, two cats, and Chilean rose hair tarantula. His chapbook Whisper Gallery is online at Mudlark. contact
Copyright 2River. Please do not use or reproduce without permission.