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.