dripping calderas and mountains filling with ash
stoke the fires the rivers the lava rolling underneath
grave winds sulphur breezes and bubbles blessed
by vulcan iron for iron soon steel on steel the
rest remembered the hammer pounds steady
drum notes beat the shields the points of arrow
and spear the rush towards victory the last and
first to finish the race molten fire we breathe
long wind and the body tears the wet chests
and arms bleeding holy fire when they asked
the god what was his creation and he answered
the best parts of a fifty seven chevy

[mike sluchinski reads vonnegut’s harrison bergeron religiously. he’s grateful to be part of shot glass journal, heartwood literary magazine, dublin poetry walk ’24 & ’26, superfan/dear easy mac, FLARE: flagler review, scifaikuest, tulane review, mantis, failed haiku, inlandia journal, kaleidotrope, eternal haunted summer, the wave (kelp), the literary review of canada, the coachella review, welter, poemeleon, lit shark, proud to be vols. 13 & 14, the ekphrastic review, meow meow pow pow, kelp journal, the fib review, south florida poetry journal (soflopojo), freefall, pulpmag, in parentheses, and more coming!]