What Rough Beast | Poem for January 3, 2020

David P. Miller
The End of That

a golden shovel, from Talking Heads’ “Once in a Lifetime”

And
both you
and I may
end before we say
“Bind our shaken hearts to
this whole staring disaster.” Shroud yourself,

my
personal god.
Blanch for what
your deep devoted have
torched for your nostrils. I
strip away your shadow. I’m done.

David P. Miller is the author of Sprawled Asleep (Nixes Mate Books, 2019) and The Afterimages (Červená Barva Press, 2014). His poems have recently appeared in Meat for TeaHawaii Pacific ReviewTurtle Island Quarterlypoems2goriverbabbleNixes Mate ReviewThe Lily Poetry ReviewPeacock JournalRedheaded StepchildJenny, and others. Miller was a librarian at Curry College in Milton, Mass., from which he retired in 2018. He lives in Boston.

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