aubade in a red state-凯发k8官网

red like the fanned tail of the half-starved ^{1 2}
over a cat, twelve weeks deep in drought, ³ wet      with the eye’s sweet rot, the liver. red like the dirt
blown loose from thirst-gagged roots, twisting in little devils      over ⁴ grass. red like the contrails’ lit cords burning
across the faces of the final stars, red like the sun’s chapped      smile come bleeding back from its ⁵. red like the singlet
the boy wears under a sweatshirt under a black plastic bag      as he ⁶ every stairway in the stadium before weigh-in
trying to shuck enough sweat from his flesh to let him wrestle      smaller boys. red like the diet pills that make him ⁷ inside,
make him crosshatch his body with scratches livid as wet clay.      red like the mat he drives the boys into, chin digging
at their shoulders as they ⁸ like hooked crappies, red like the mat      that should ⁹ right through the gym floor’s polished slats
for how hard he’s pushing down. red like the ¹⁰ brimful      with a ¹¹ sky, the only place he’s ever felt light
enough, floating. red like the heads of prairie fire ¹² the turnpike.      red like the oil derrick’s clumsy ¹³ rising,
falling, bowing to the hilt of its unfillable hunger.