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Head for cover right around banshee time.
Dusk comes about like a fattened bottom lip,
pouting.
The willows pull in their ears
while lightning bugs hunt down
little kids to taunt.
Sonnets crawl into the dog-houses out back,
boarding spiders and prey
now that the half-breeds are dead.
It’s hard to feel brave in open fields,
no corner to back yourself into.
If genes were balls,
maybe I’d be tougher by now
instead of scared of the dark.
Harrods Creek pulls down its blinds.
The county locks away the mowers for the night
while bluegrass winks at cartographers.
Crickets clear their throat
and banshees tip-toe the starting line.
 

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Tommy Gaffney was born and raised in Kentucky, somewhere between the projects and the trailer parks.  He is the author of "Three Beers from Oblivion" and "Whiskey Days" (Night Bomb Press 2009). Gaffney's favorite colors are John Deere Green and Joey Ramone Black.  He can often be found wandering the streets of Portland, Oregon.