The souls are sidewinders,
breast stroking through
Arizona skies.
They have colors, some
are pink, others blue,
and marmalade orange.
They are swimming, those
souls, off to the finish line
of the apocalypse; incoming.
I sit and watch from my
decrepit porch, my swing;
creaking as the chain links
pop; innocent like pearly bones.
I spot a rat, scamper through
the brambles; dry sparse land,
like snake skin.
There are mountains in the
distance; all the dead ones
know me by name, they sing,
songs of celebration and of
remembrance. I shall take the
path less traveled, that gravelly
death trail; the path leading me
away from this lifetime and up
into those Arizona skies; where,
those sidewinders are morphing,
into the souls of the next sunbeam;
some fragrant, radiant elixir.
--
Wayne Russell is a creative writer that was born and raised in Florida, he moved to Ohio in late 2016. His first book of poems, "Where Angels Fear" was published by Guerilla Genius Press in 2020 is available on Amazon; his second book of poetry is titled "Splinter of the Moon" and will be available via Silver Bow Publishing in early 2024.