put down  
the metal 

and mercury  
revenants 

you don’t need to be  
quick 

there is plenty more  
time 

to catch these horrors  
in your ribs 

we don’t want to be  
unlovely birds 

take the mutilation  
as it comes. 

Travis Gouré is a writer and musician based in Athens, Georgia. His work has appeared in Ploughshares, Menacing Hedge Literary Journal, Oddville Press and more. He studies literary theory, poststructuralism, and majors in English at Kennesaw State University. When not working, he plays tennis and performs music under the name My Modern Office.