i.
everyone wants a virgin to hunt
a field to watch for wings or hind legs
something exotic something everyone aches for
velvet meat
see the savage beast a haunting twitch of his brown eye
sullen his teased sway he’s asking for it
jeans gathered at his pelvic chin
& white t-shirt a wrinkled sky
a blanket of salt feathered moss
ii.
the chase
boy stands
hunter watches fingers folly on the trigger
the air is a cemetery
boy sees hunter wilts
hunter is a grinning slaughterhouse
boy slightly moves
hunter shoots
boy is loose skin hunter above
hunter is “stop resisting”
boy is loose skin
hunter is “i said stop resisting”
boy is loose & tires himself out
hunter is aggressive
the air is a eulogy
hunter is the only thing moving
hunter is moving boy
boy is subtle breath
iii.
& everyone hates moss
but everyone loves the sound of breaking glass
shatter boy less angel more marrow
use that blackened skin those watermelon lips
bend spine see that torso bridge
make the hunt worthy bawl rut
give a show butchered thing
iv.
everyone loves a dead boy fallen in an open field
red mouth a slit limbs slung over greenery bloodied bed
eyes dripping away him in jeans & white t-shirt
cracked open a coffin
dried meat
teeth swallowed an animal
gunned down look where the smoke lingers
from the porous flesh peeled stomach flushed
Luther Hughes is a Seattle native, but currently lives in Chicago where he is pursuing his B.A. in poetry at Columbia College Chicago. He currently curates, “Shade,” a literary blog for queer writers of color. A Pushcart Prize nominee, Luther’s works have been published or are forthcoming in Muzzle, Winter Tangerine, Vinyl, Word Riot, and others. You can follow him on Twitter @lutherxhughes. He thinks you are beautiful.
