September 1, 2010
1
The fires drove the coyotes down from the hills. I never realized until I read it that the shorter the
shells, the more rounds you can load. We should have left before what I took for a tree turned
back into a man.
2
The weather hasn’t been cooperating. Fire leaps the barriers. With every breath, we risk an
unwanted invitation. You can’t remember the name of that principle of physics either. Back
then, you were you and someone else. I have a question. It’s three months. Why isn’t my eye any
better?
3
The county fair opens with the sound of a shell being jacked into the chamber. Don’t be afraid
to shoot through a wall or door. Remember, the black-faced sheep know all kitchens have large
knives.
4
My face was a searchlight aimed at nothing. Other people’s children rang the doorbell and
ran. You sensed some unease among the angels. Every beast must do after its kind. A coyote
snatched up the little tragedies the wind had scattered.
Beijing 3
Leah Oates
Photograph