Smoke Tree Ring

There’s something in the smoke tree
Something caught—taut, unnatural.
Something fierce but frozen in time.
Where’s Poppa, where’s Nanny?
Where’s Justus, where’s Ma?
Light swells but the sun’s
Gone dark.
Throat
Tight.
Send
Help.
Now.
As
I
. . .

What I’m Reading:

“‘Dystopia’ is a word that no longer means anything when everything is already worse than we ever could’ve imagined it would be.”

— Coleman Spilde / “The Last Thing the World Needs Is More ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’”