Saturday, March 5, 2016

Three Poems by A.J. Huffman


Embracing Change . . .

I’m settling in
and every minute can be
daunting.  Becoming
your nothing, I’ve met
with suggestions
on tweaks and additions.
One of the biggest developments
is a hope that you devour
what you love.

And what you don’t.



Masterful Interpreters of the Human Vibe

I thought everything was right
with the world.  I saw dark
eyes below the surface.  There were deep
days of secrets.  I thought I had everything
contained.  I soon learned betrayal
was a one-room efficiency
across the parking lot.  I have one foot
in a place I knew I could never leave
without dying.  I did not want to grow
up.  I did not want to learn
about wearing my sins like a blanket,
but I was in no position to change things.
The risk of chaos was always near,
and poison literally hung in the air. 
I saw it as the subtle difference
between hope and desire.  There was still
something pure about that.  Of course,
it helps to be able to breathe
in dirty air.



Ungusted Wind

Heavy silence
weighing on lungs,
waiting for another breath
of memory.  A tussled-hair anticipation.
A relief from smothering
heat that never comes.



A.J. Huffman has published twelve full-length poetry collections, thirteen solo poetry chapbooks and one joint poetry chapbook through various small presses.  Her most recent releases, Degeneration (Pink Girl Ink), A Bizarre Burning of Bees (Transcendent Zero Press), and Familiar Illusions (Flutter Press) are now available from their respective publishers.  She is a five-time Pushcart Prize nominee, a two-time Best of Net nominee, and has published over 2500 poems in various national and international journals, including Labletter, The James Dickey Review, The Bookends Review, Bone Orchard, Corvus Review, EgoPHobia, and Kritya.  She is also the founding editor of Kind of a Hurricane Press.  www.kindofahurricanepress.com.

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