stumble to the car
whooping
recounting
heads banging around
bruised apple-bounce giddy
hands still eyeball-wet
flecks of blood in our hair
we are fight ready
flee full
hearts knocking frantic
veins and arteries
swarming
glucose flushed nostril flare
lip-red gashes grinning
fevered faces
up to our own devices
lit from below
pupils
like open manholes
–
Ren Pike grew up in Newfoundland. Through sheer luck, she was born into a family who understood the exceptional value of a library card. Her work has appeared in Train, Pithead Chapel, IceFloe Press, and FEED. When she is not writing, she wrangles data for non-profit organizations in Calgary, Canada.