Jonathan Humphrey

Pistil, Stamen, Steady, Steady

in this world
we walk on the roof of hell
gazing at flowers
—Issa

The mountain soaks up insect song. Then rain on broad leaves. Beside our packs and half empty bottle of scotch, we make love with our pale, wet bodies. Lightning touches itself in the sky. Along the landscape of your orgasm, you scream in horror and push me aside. Not three feet away is the corpse of a deer, wild violets threading its ribcage. If not for the flowers, you’d still be trembling. If not for the flowers, we’d all fall short.

deer nosing the dark—
the floral notes
of emptiness

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Note: ”deer nosing the dark” won first prize in the First Yugen International Haiku Contest, 2021.

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About the Author

Jonathan Humphrey’s work has recently appeared in Acorn, Frogpond, Modern Haiku, and The Heron’s Nest. With a fondness for whiskey and whippoorwills, he divides his time between the lights of Nashville and the woods of his native Kentucky.