i dreamed of stumbling down
the steep incline of the cave-ins
finding a hidden cave and
an extremely tall creature covered with thick fur
bright eyes of curiosity and tenderness
he would hear my nasal voice
and see the strange things in my ears
he would know i wasn’t like the other humans
who came down here to get high
the creature would gesture no speech
which would be fine as i was deaf
i would teach him the manual alphabet
but he’d have no use for words at all
he’d gesture hunger, cold, rain
i’d laugh when he tries to explain
how awful humans are
he’d light up understanding
we are one and the same
always hunted and haunted
Raymond Luczak is the author and editor of 22 books. Titles forthcoming in 2019 include Flannelwood (Red Hen Press) and Lovejets: Queer Male Poets on 200 Years of Walt Whitman (Squares & Rebels). He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Twitter: @deafwoof
Facebook: @Raymondsbooks
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