I cant see the horizon through the trees
shoving me from behind Walk! blunt
nose of his revolver bangs my backbone black and blue
No sweat huh Soon you aint seein nuthin
old growth trees
more dense
not me
dimly occurring that maybe the woods might take a bullet
for me
one might buy me just enough
outside fifteen feet hed be lucky to hit me through vertical
blinds
so why worry the horizon
inside the trunk I was aware we rode uphill
what goes up must come down
were walking uphill
Thump! another welt rising on bone
a big bore
he might be able to shoot through a tree
underfoot little tangle
I cant see the hori . .
You said
dumb luck
all in the timing
football spin as he jabbed
heavy elbow to the temple
broken field run downhill
physics pulling me
slicing sidewise between spaces in trees
face whipped by boughs naked fingerlings
BLAM! sounded bigger
than the explosion of splintering wood behind me
still intact
churning
hurtling
praying the woods might take two
MUTHAFUCKER! bigger than the BLAM!
never send an oaf to do an elfs job
suddenly airborne
falling
not too far
keep balance
soft earth landing
cut road
downhill
off road
MUTHAFUCKER!
gaining ground
big forest
he aint no bloodhound
aint either of us going home
legs and lungs are screamin
letem scream
letem bitch an bellyache
means were alive on fire
somewhere high above me a car engine starts coughs ought to do
something about that cough sputters stalls really ought to have done something
about that
MUTHAFUCKER!
HA! sucks not to be me
lactic acid fire
a snatch of a cramp in my ham
Drop
talkin to myself
Ill listen to me
I drop
spittle runs spiderwebs across my face
hawk up a chunk of lung
spit
suck air
first time I glanced over my shoulder
trees
I cant see the horizon for trees
thinkin
slow heart
thinkin
slow breath
buyin time
slow it all d o
w
n
slowing
gobble up a look from where I am
no track
fat man aint no Daniel Boone
fat man would make plenty of noise as he came
I hoped the car croaked
with him piggybacking another human being of fat I liked my odds
more and more
Craaaank
dead car
tally
he dont walk out
one dead urban oaf
maybe a dead black and blue backbone
water
a bladder of piss
hold it
canteen
wont get snagged in the trees and brush
Up!
yeah me
bossy muthafucker
or so Im reminded
up
ham aint tight
sore
Go
feel a disembodied finger at my spine ready to dig at a mewling
vertebra
were going
if it aint as long as I walk as I think it is Ill poach him
Shaddup
Enough
yah
okay
focus
walk
deliberate
quiet
listen
birds roosting
night soon
fingers crossed I cross the road
switchbacks
lots
sudden bench
green
sunset
horizon smiles
there you are
smiles bigger
I smile
nice to see ya again
between the benchs toes
road
black ribbon and a bow
2131, Thursday, 13 12.
12
