Imago – A Poem by Donny Winter

Imago

By Donny Winter

The locker room was the epicenter again,

a titan convergence with three football players

twice his size, Ghidorah-tongued, and out for blood.

They’d spit their hate between gut punch gasps

and the burn of each spit wad lava bomb lingered.

He’d dam the tears behind his lids and tried to flail

until his limbs fell limp, but not the wrists, of course,

because he knew they’d keep their target locked.

Even on the bus, he’d hear their bellows echo

across the parking lot, though they’d fade away

against the motor’s meditative grumble.

Landscapes transmogrified in his mind

on the long rides home, and today, he dreamed

himself a defeated larva on a journey.

Somewhere in the woods, a yakusuji stood,

and he’d weave himself a cocoon

to forge Mothra wings fit for flight.

Watch Donny Recite the Poem!