Craving to Get Out by r l swihart

 

In lieu of Dante's

wood

he culled from an Italian

film

an allee lined with pinnate

trees

 

Without Kirosawa's

direction

he awkwardly entered the

landscape

taking only his-

self

 

He could've walked on

forever—

because it went on

forever—

but after he counted one hundred

trees

he turned into a field of waving tall

grass

the occasional

flower

 

His steps eventually led him to

a clearing—

the bent grass and steaming turd

suggesting

that the animal had

departed

 

Sunshot beaded down

as

he pondered his next

move—

the foil-green flies

wanting

and not wanting

to land

 


r l swihart has studied Engineering at the University of Michigan and Theology at Grace Theological Seminary as well as Near Eastern Languages / Culture, and Education at UCLA.
His work has appeared in
Electric Acorn, Niederngasse, Adirondack Review, In Posse, The Melic Review, 3rd Muse,  Samsara Quarterly, The Drunken Boat and Conspire.

 

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