God, let my whiskey-loose tongue speak
well of itself. December, and it is blood-cracking
cold. God, how have you been?
I have taken the hoof and paw-
beaten path. Funny, how calm it is
to die of exposure. Bring back your arm
of flame. Bring back light to the night sky.
Listen, I am only one more gulp
of cold water from never sleeping again,
and I don’t have the heart
to tell my dog. See, I am reaching.
God, I only ask for one more spoon
of my mother’s apple butter.
well of itself. December, and it is blood-cracking
cold. God, how have you been?
I have taken the hoof and paw-
beaten path. Funny, how calm it is
to die of exposure. Bring back your arm
of flame. Bring back light to the night sky.
Listen, I am only one more gulp
of cold water from never sleeping again,
and I don’t have the heart
to tell my dog. See, I am reaching.
God, I only ask for one more spoon
of my mother’s apple butter.
Gardner Dorton is a poet from Knoxville, TN. He received his MFA from the College of Charleston in Poetry. His work can also be found in Homology Lit, Rattle, Crab Creek Review and Glass: a Journal of Poetry. His chapbook "Stone Fruit" is forthcoming in February 2021 published by Glass.