how we speak
sitting silent in the stillness of birds—
i break the dead air with a clap
& they become
a disorder of wings.
their dense bodies
bound towards the sky
like an upsurge of dust.
they don’t understand
that in their distress
carries a bliss.
*
hunting season
the bullet drums
through the house
startling us
as if it were the dog’s bark
at 3 a.m. at an opossum
wandering onto the porch
to eat the remainder
of cat food.
we run like a group
of spooked deer
into the field
of locked doors.
*
john compton (b. 1987) is a gay poet who is the author of 20 books/chapbooks, who lives in kentucky with his husband josh and their dogs and cats, and mice. his latest full length book is “my husband holds my hand because i may drift away & be lost forever in the vortex of a crowded store” published with Flowersong Press (dec 2024); his new full length book “house as a cemetery” published with Rebel Satori Press (march 2026) & is nominated for the national book award.