ad interim
the birds went quiet
and the air became static and ticks
all it wanted was to get inside
the shadows began to flutter in panic
and the core swelled shut
a blue jay guided the moon reflected in several kitchen knives
and this old deep couch
which fits me sideways like a hacked apart machine
became
unfixed
I put my cigarette out in a pistachio shell
look around
everything changed
everything the same
About the Author: Ariel Beller was born in Portland, Oregon in 1976. His work has appeared in The Bicycle Review, Driftwood Press, Amsterdam Quarterly, Luna Luna, Tears in the Fence, Queen Mobs Teahouse, Gobbet, The Wolf, Exquisite Corpse, and many other places. He currently resides in New Orleans.
Image Credit: Gemeinnüzzige Naturgeschichte des Thierreichs, Gottlieb August Lange,1780-1789. Courtesy of the Biodiversity Heritage Library
As It Ought To Be 