Appalachia

So I’m in the red-

neck of the woods,

and this is the part of the country

where people aim their rifles

at autumn. What I would give

to be that season

with so many weapons.

Here, where all wild-

life startles easily, I miss

the bullseye on every rabbit’s back.

I grieve the living

I fail to dress

and undress like small children.

When I drive back to the farm,

it’s dark enough

that I could be anywhere.

I kill the gas

and lower my head-

lights like a sheep

bringing its mouth closer

to the earth.

Erin Jin Mei O'Malley
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Erin Jin Mei O'Malley lives in New York. Her work appears or is forthcoming in DIALOGIST, Rust + Moth, Cosmonauts Avenue, and others. She has received a scholarship from the Lambda Literary Foundation and nominations for a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. You can find her at www.explorationsoferin.com.