From Part Two of Kristin Abraham’s book The Disappearing Cowboy Trick
The Hero Lyric
He was supposed to tell someone
about his heartache:
a soul possessed by bees,
perfectly crotched,
a stiff-all-over gait—
but that was a long time ago.
He had already looked at
the eclipse & went blind:
went “the business-end
of a bad mistake.” So he died
until he could no longer
ignore the sound of pebbles
skittering around him;
he died until he could
no longer feel the loss
of body. Then
he died a little less.
—
This selection comes from Kristen Abraham’s book The Disappearing Cowboy Trick, available from Horse Less Press. Purchase your copy here!
Kristin Abraham was born and raised in Michigan. She currently lives in Fort Collins, Colorado, with her husband, three dogs, and two cats. She teaches English at a community college in Wyoming and serves as editor-in-chief and poetry editor for the literary journal Spittoon (www.spittoonmag.com).
T.A. Noonan is the author of several books and chapbooks, most recently four sparks fall: a novella (Chicago Center for Literature and Photography, 2013) and, with Erin Elizabeth Smith, Skate or Die (Dusie Kollektiv, 2014). Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Reunion: The Dallas Review, West Wind Review, Hobart, Ninth Letter, and Phoebe, among others. A weightlifter, crafter, priestess, and all-around woman of action, she serves as the Associate Editor of Sundress Publications, Founding Editor of Flaming Giblet Press, and Literary Arts Director for the Sundress Academy of the Arts.