Steve Hood

LONG DISTANCE

Assemble a switch, a fuse,
explosive filler, a power source
for the switch, add nails,
ball bearings in a container.

All the way from China,
ambassador of peace, Lu Lingzi
posted a photo of the breakfast
she ate that morning.

Razor sharp, metal fragments,
rip the healthy flesh of people,
bloody holes gape in muscles,
faces, chests.

Darkness sucks in sounds
of smiles and humble intentions,
of eyes filled with joy,
heavy breathing and stamina.

Martin and his sister cheered,
waiting for their father to cross
the finish, among crowds
of Americans.

Orange flash and white
smoke breaks glass, shrapnel
cuts off legs, sweaty socks
and laced running shoes.


Steve reads "Long Distance":



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Steve confesses: "I'm writing a book of political poetry, emphasizing environmental collapse. But I noticed that environmental collapse topics are quite often also about death, which is great poetic topic. So I started mixing in poems about death. This poem has the benefit of being a 'two-fer' about both politics and death."


STEVE HOOD is an attorney and political activist living in Bellingham, WA. His poems have appeared in Windfall, Washington Free Press, and Whatcom Watch. His first chapbook entitled From Here To Astronomy, was published by Pudding House. One of the poems in his chapbook won an award from the Pacific Northwest Writers' Association.