Open Throat

by Henry Hoke

the long death was a giant blurry path that led all the way up and all the way down and was always blazing with fast moving cars that killed countless creatures I traded old fear for new fear

I imagine the kill sharer appearing now at the mouth of the cave circling like I’m his prey and pouncing and connecting with me and the warmth we would make together with our eight paws and two dangling parts and four rows of teeth

I don’t want my story to end here I roll the young man on his face and then back onto his back trying to cover his fire leg in dirt something hits me the old man throws another rock and this one hits the young man but I see he’s aiming for my face the woman screams aguas and she grabs a large branch from the ground and steps forward and jabs at me and another rock from the old man clips my ear the man returns clutching his bucket and when he sees me he drops it and water sloshes out and tears fill his eyes the bucket is so small and the flames are almost done destroying our town the stick and more rocks come at me through the smoke and I feel one bounce hard off my spine the young man’s fire is out now but he’s crying in pain I step off him and turn and run away from my people away from their doom and toward the lights of a larger one the flames rise to the tops of the trees behind me and the hills in front of me reflect the glow and they might as well be burning too fire is the only future

the burn is behind me but the smoke is everywhere without the sun or moon I don’t know when day stops or night starts I can’t tell how long I’ve been walking away walking not running because I can’t see what’s right in front of me anymore and can’t see myself I could be something else I could be a deer or even a person but not a bird a bird could rise above the smoke I can’t sing my lungs are full of ugly I look down and there are no paws any sec I could step off a cliff I think I’ve always felt this way the smoke makes it clear

people can’t see it but I can their end makes everything okay scare city isn’t scare city with no one around to say its name

I retract my claws and try to become the kitten at the center of my self