Primal

we are prey
to our oblivion

you or me
in a blast

of phosphorous and orange
orchids and birds fall

as fire washes the green
and we see skin burn

to grimace
stretch across black teeth

and know that flame
will always sing

your fear and mine
vein the leaves and grass

as i press my hand to the ground
to know your pulse

your moves
the way an animal can sense rain

this fullness of nowhere
pure moment in pure now

absence and presence
as i cut and pull

feel life cover me
like joy

from howl to cry

 

 

 

 

lovasikStefan Lovasik is a U.S. Army combat veteran. During the American war in Vietnam, he served with Special Operations Forces. His poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in American Literary Review, Consequence, and Folio, among others. His collection, Persona and Shadow (FlutterPress), was published in 2015, and a new collection, Absolution (Main Street Rag Publishing Co.), was released in March, 2018.