Distrust of Hills
I see them now approaching
Faux emerald-crusted archways
Chinese dragons of old thinking themselves wise
and they are closing in
– suffocatingly close –
obstructing my precious view
blinding me like that stupid star
You’ll see how unnatural it feels when you yourself ascend into the sky
I do not attempt a guess as to what their motives may be
but I suspect they hide secrets under the grass, giant
mounds of slinking treasure
I also know that they are land
essentially hiding upon itself
and for that alone
To trust the hunchback of Earth, the place where shadows
find rest
I do not understand
The belly of a serpent has more honor
The deepest chasms of the darkest seas are polite
enough to be consistent and I see your little chuckles
your sarcastic brow
And I know you see the fear in my eyes coming over your curved spine, not knowing a damn
thing about the other side
Make a fool of me
I know you will
I’ll save my trust for other lands
where I do not need to be closer to heaven to understand the appeal of stars
Dante Novario lives in Louisville, KY where he works as a behavior therapist with special needs individuals. His work has appeared in The Ariel Magazine. He previously studied at Bellarmine University where he once drank wine with the Kentucky Poet Laureate. He can be reached at dnovario01@gmail.com.