Cicadas scream in trees.
Someone says they sound
Like something stalking us. Static
Heartbeat a noise that grows with every
Footstep. The earth gives a little. Sinks like
Skin. Summertime is always humid
Here. The rain doesn’t wash
Away the heat but cleans the blood-
Soaked bones. Leaves them shimmering.
In moonlight, a fawn so small I could
Have held it in my hands.
Beck Guerra Carter (they/she) is a butch poet from Austin, Texas.
They have their MFA from Texas State University and have been published in Lavender Review, the lickety~split, Sinister Wisdom, FEED, Warning Lines, and elsewhere.
Their life is more than a list of failures and accomplishments. So is yours.