Powder Burns
Missed Connections in Savannah
He walked with a lingering gait,
forged by years of being in a hurry
to be dead, and the disappointment
that comes with failing.
She was a collision of panic and grace;
pieced together from the twisted remains
of her parents and a marriage that
she thought would help her escape,
but left her black and blue and with
a perforated ear drum instead.
The waiting room had mostly emptied,
and the two of them sat side by side
separated by her overstuffed shoulder bag.
“Where you headed?” he asked.
“Beautiful,” she said.
–Bison Jack
Her Two Cents
This is the second poem I’ve discovered from “Bison Jack” (Jason Armstrong Beck) from the Savannah MC. The ending of Powder Burns is so simple and hopeful in contrast to the grim scene presented by the prior lines; showing that despite our broken and battered hearts and bodies, we can always find a place that beauty hasn’t forgotten.
