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
Stefan 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.