I hope the half-blown
dress
over my shoulder—
I hope the gray hours—
whisper darts—
are enough.
I hope he’s alone
with geraniums
in his mouth.
Jason has an F-150
he takes to sailing
over the plains.
He buries
every bullet—
his brother’s—
every cabinet—
blown open.
& Jason knows
every approach
I’d take
my half-blown dress,
a whisper dart
over my shoulder.
I’d take his F-150
out sailing
over the plains.
Now I’m alone
with geraniums
in my mouth—
every bullet—
his brother’s—
every cabinet—
I open—
every approach
over my shoulder,
his head—a dart.

Shannon Hardwick’s work has appeared, or is forthcoming, in Gulf Coast Journal, Salamander, South Dakota Review, Plume Poetry Journal, The Texas Observer, Four Way Review, The Missouri Review, Sixth Finch, and Passages North, among others. Hardwick serves as the Editor-in-Chief for The Boiler.