justin runge

lygophobe/lover

depending
on the size of sirens
            I think
or do not think of you

      the bushes shake
as do footprints
against the grass

      surplus leaves
      of former months
      natural alarms
                        I’ve tuned them
      out somewhere
      by the trains
the tracks they heat

            I hover now

knots of sound
      wetting my chain
      to a distance

I pull back
      across the lake
of neighborhoods
drag for bodies

until no more sirens

      still
I haven’t necessarily
      forgotten about you

*

swift waking

                        I woke
to find a song on the chimes
I did not recognize
something minor

                        I woke
to find my wind knocked out
carpet grime against the fire
escape railing

      wind that pushed
against my unfolded self
      when

                        I swore
      I felt like I was sailing
                        when

                        I woke
with dry heaves I believed
I had something
to get rid of

something like a good curse
where the mirrors burst

behind me into blameless swords

                        I woke

*


Justin Runge is currently pursuing his MFA in creative writing at the University of Alabama, where he serves as design editor for Black Warrior Review. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Hot Metal Bridge, DIAGRAM, and elsewhere.