Undetonated

I wake up to the sound
of an emergency broadcast
Rubbing my sleepy eyes
Peering past them
in total disbelief
Like a half asleep
scared latchkey kid
whose hometown
just burned down
Like back in 1979
I watched an F3 tornado
from my friend’s window
Hang, draw and quarter
the northside of Cheyenne
We learned to duck and cover
when the warning siren
screamed bloody murder
Under the imminent threat
of Russia dropping bombs
All the promise of a cold war
that never ever heated up
No death from above
Save an occasional twister
We only had so much time
Before the button was pressed
Mutually assured destruction
They once teased
So I did what I wanted
I played live music in clubs
Back when that was a thing
I hiked thousands of miles
Never thought about tomorrow
Now all I think about is rent
As I star in a marginal role
Of a slow motion reenactment
At my day after day suicide
Working a shitty job
I am a deserted atom
Brutally split at the seams
I’m Hiroshima’s spilled drink
Or a dropped nuclear bomb
That instead of exploding
Somehow got caught
Undetonated and buried
Like the fallout of a dream

Words: Cara Feral
Photo: 1951 AP archives

How Much Does A Shadow Weigh?

How much does a shadow weigh?
That it binds the sun to shade?
Veiling prayers of widow and bride
Whispered like poppies from graves

How much strength mustered in hope
To flutter from Indra’s ashen clouds?
Past viscid spidering nets of doubt
And emerge into clear blue skies?

How long does it take for love?
The day never lasts for too long
Though each breath yearns to stay
Moments whipsaw us farther along

How much force does beauty exert?
It burns the hands that hold it too close
A cornered temptress in snowy meadows
Limping moonlit proof her garden remains



Words: Cara Feral
Photo: Les Piccolo