"map (of) rust", "my morning mother", and "anxiously at the wound" by john compton

map (of) rust

i rode the wings

of the great beast:

you. in time, in turn,

your hopeless melody—

you sit in the dandelion skulls

with piano keys under your eyes

to dine in the death voice

of your sadist mind.

you brought fire

to the snow, each touched

lost their individuality, becoming

all the rest, a drop.

my morning mother

my mother slept adversely.

though through the night

her face unfolded. it smoothed

over. her lips were pink earthworms.

her tongue became sober,

a softened sword. in bed

she was a cocoon, half-exposed.

anxiously at the wound

i sleep in the fog

of your morning

breath

in the overspill

we disappear

catching the hook, the dream

glints in the murky water

glimpses

i shape into your image

//

i wake, empty headed

afraid confused

weights sewn into my palms

where are you

the cold wraps me

like a grave

john compton (b. 1987) is gay poet who lives in kentucky. he lives in a tiny town, with his husband josh and their 3 dogs and 2 cats. his poetry is a personal journey. he reaches for things close and far, trying to give them life: growing up gay; having mental health issues; a journey into his childhood; the world that surrounds us. he writes to be alive, to learn and to grow. he loves imagery, metaphor, simile, abstract language, sounds, when one word can drift you into another direction. he loves playing with vocabulary, creating texture and emotions. he has published 2 books and 5 chapbooks published and forthcoming: [books]: trainride elsewhere (august 2016) from Pressed Wafer; stranger in the attic of clouds (tba) from dead man's press inc; [chapbooks]: that moan like a saxophone (december 2016) from kindle; ampersand (march 2018) from Plan B Press; a child growing wild inside the mothering womb (june 2020) from ghost city press; i saw god cooking children / paint their bones (oct 2020) from blood pudding press; to wash all the pretty things off my skin (sept 2021) from ethel zine & micro-press. he has been published in numerous magazines and anthologies.