Stop now. Stop long before you enter
the woods and disclose the name of the owner.
Tell your great-aunts and uncles.
Let even the servers know
at your favorite restaurant. Give quarters
to kids each time they shout,
“He’s not going any farther.”
WRITE IT IN CAPS ON YOUR TWITTER
ACCOUNT! Plaster the news
on a flashing billboard. Leave the horse
and bells in the hands of your neighbor.
Give up meat. Say goodbye to saltines,
soup. Ignore the deceit of easy wind,
downy flake. Look for me at the last mile marker
on the west side of Nebraska. You’ll find
I’m asleep, asleep, asleep.
–
Mark D. Bennion has taught writing and literature courses at Brigham Young University-Idaho for the past 23 years. His work has appeared in various journals, including Aethlon, Comstock Review, Irreantum, The Lyric, and Third Wednesday. His most recent collection is Beneath the Falls: poems (Resource Publications, 2020).