Livestock
by Jared Carter
At journey’s end, forced to debark
and follow ramps
That funnel them down through the dark,
into a damp,
Benighted place, where sharpened knives
await – they go,
In single file, their route devised
so none can know
In minutes they will all be dead.
They only mind
That what keeps prodding them ahead
is from behind.
Bio: Jared Carter's most recent book is Darkened Rooms of Summer: New and Selected Poems (University of Nebraska Press). He lives in Indianapolis.
by Jared Carter
At journey’s end, forced to debark
and follow ramps
That funnel them down through the dark,
into a damp,
Benighted place, where sharpened knives
await – they go,
In single file, their route devised
so none can know
In minutes they will all be dead.
They only mind
That what keeps prodding them ahead
is from behind.
Bio: Jared Carter's most recent book is Darkened Rooms of Summer: New and Selected Poems (University of Nebraska Press). He lives in Indianapolis.