animal

by Livio Farallo

there is that reason

              that sugar in time

              that sweetens dawn

              to let you drink it down

and now

                there is nothing for fog to do

                but crack the atmosphere

                letting moisture whistle away

and now

               a rock is the dirt the dirt is a tree

               a tree is a rooted mountain

               i’ve never seen.

up the road

out of stifling topography

drenched in thin rain,

we have a conversation

about the regardless air.

it’s what we talk about

no matter what we say:

                                           breathed in

                                           breathed out.

                                           breathed air

furring every word.

Livio Farallo is co-editor of Slipstream and Professor of Biology at Niagara County Community College in Sanborn, New York. His work has appeared in The Cardiff Review, The Cordite Review, Triggerfish, Roi Faineant, Ranger, Straylight, and elsewhere.