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Fire Across the Sky

What about the night I found your betrayal,
and all my answers fell to the floor — large

clumps of reality of what I already knew, but
couldn’t quite face. Years of questions turned

on me; nights I sat and waited for the spew of
lies I would somehow twist into what I needed

them to be — like the carnival barker who twists the
balloons into circus animals to placate the children —

but even the kids know it’s still a damn balloon.
I post regrets everywhere, seek solace in places

meant for anything but. I wonder if you have what if
moments that take your breath — or, if yours are the

thank God variety. Do your ears burn on nights I
look to the start for answers, and I swear you’re

looking back? Maybe our timing was wrong, but
damn — some nights made even the worst of us

spread fire across the sky.

—
Cathy Porter’s poetry has appeared in Plainsongs, Homestead Review, California Quarterly, Trajectory, Cottonwood, Nerve Cowboy, Chiron Review, and various other journals. She has several chapbooks available from Finishing Line Press, Dancing Girl Press, and Maverick Duck Press. Shuffle and Go is her latest collection, from Bottlecap Press. Cathy has been nominated for several Pushcart prizes. She lives in Omaha, Nebraska.

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