Coyote Howl (For Brother John)
You graduated early from the school of hard knocks complete with
several concussions.
You sharpened your wits on the whispers and sneers of less intelligent beings.
You possess the hands of a mad genius, making everything you touch shine
brighter, cut deeper and move faster but ultimately too beautiful to last.
Your heavy Viking heart beats too strong, loves too hard and howls like
a lone coyote on the hill, pining for the waxing moon.
It will be the death of you.
She Left The House In Ruin
Her reasoning cracked like her lip under his fist.
She let the children play with his tools.
They dipped them in the pool and left them to rust.
His other remaining possessions sat curb-side on trash day,
Waiting to be picked up then discarded.
She went room to room methodically destroying whatever she could.
From the outside everything looked normal but the interior, much like her own,
was left to rot in ruin.
Renegade
Awake to greet the menacing dawn.
Sirens and shadows fill the room.
The haunting voices of life in the fast lane.
Mercurial.
Somewhat frightening.
I watch the world fly by my window at light speed.
We talked about martyrdom and music.
Tried to bend chaos into art.
I miss those wanton nights when it seemed as if
the world couldn’t survive another day.
We send each other rabid greetings from afar.
You wrestle your demons to the floor.
Trying to keep a lid on the jar before those visions can escape.
You and I know they can only scar.
May the neon buzz sing you to sleep.
Only the moon knows of your isolation..
We never beg if we can borrow.
May you rise to fight tomorrow, my favorite renegade.
Kevin M. Hibshman has had his poetry, prose, reviews and collages published around the world, most recently in Punk Noir Magazine, Rye Whiskey Review, Piker Press, The Crossroads, Drinkers Only, 1870, Synchronized Chaos, Yellow Mama, Unlikely Stories Mark V, Literary Yard, Lothlorien Poetry Journal and Medusa’s Kitchen.
He has edited his own poetry journal, FEARLESS for the past thirty years. He has authored sixteen chapbooks, including Incessant Shining (2011, Alternating Current Press).He received a BA in Liberal Arts from Union University/Vermont College in 2016. A new book, Just Another Small Town Story from Whiskey City Press is now available on Amazon.