It begins with a question, and ends / with a plea. It begins with yes, I want / this world inside of me, and ends with prayers / in the attic. It begins with twelve forests and twelve / apostles to ravage them, and doesn’t end until the bodies are forever / sealed shut. It begins with thousands / of curious boys, and ends with snow / the color of a fingertip. It begins and ends / with a body out of walking distance, with no one / to let the hunger out. It begins like this, I was / born quiet and slow. It begins, and the question / is just as empty as a new mother’s deflated / belly. It begins with a young boy collecting / boughs, and ends with please, it is not winter / in my body. It begins and won’t end until someone has mercy / on the woodpile. It begins with winter and cannot end / as winter. It begins a game and ends / a pistol in the ground. It begins / with metaphor, and ends with a boy running naked / and bloody through the forest / of his own skin. It begins and ends / in the length a bullet can travel. / It begins with hello, and ends / with the receiver nearly touching / the floor.
2017
Contemporary
2023
LGBTQ+ Experience
Anaphora
a figure of speech in which words repeat at the beginning of successive clauses, phrases, or sentences
Imagery
visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in a literary work