Gut Reaction

By Thomas Scott Outlar

If it’s alive, it’s electric

 

If dead, the crows

will have pecked

out its eyes by now

 

If perishable, you can tell

by the general disposition

 

Seaweed and blue-green algae

sway my heart

 

Saltwater fills my throat

conductive during cayenne’s fever

 

A fire came to me in dreams

torched the terrain of my intestines

 

Left a seed of hope through shame

judged my weaker actions lacking

 

If it’s alive, it’s magnetic

 

If gone, the ghosts

will soon voice

the haunting season

 

If sustainable, you can weep

but the clock keeps ticking


 

Published on April 17th 2023

 

 

 

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