The Host of Danger

A Poem

Other party guests are sent home complaining of stomachs but mostly their noses The belligerent bruise that took over the centerpiece was made indestructible covered in cement but still goes through the rhythm of colouring The yellow lights turned off on the porch tries not to look at some brand new lovers in the grass both making stabs to articulate excitement while coyness rules slighter hearts The wine that vacates the vacuum left by cigarettes prompting another rub out another death-defying stunt to alter the makeup of someone else’s cells though the brain takes its hiatus very seriously and won’t come in if no one invites it

J.D. Harms 2020