John T. Leonard
John T. Leonard is an award-winning writer, English teacher, and poetry editor for Twyckenham Notes. He holds an M.A. in English from Indiana University. His previous works have appeared in Poetry Quarterly, december, Chiron Review, North Dakota Review, Roanoke Review, Punt Volat, High Shelf Press, Rappahannock Review, Levee Magazine, Mud Season Review, The Blue Mountain Review, Genre: Urban Arts, Sheila-Na-Gig Online, Stonecoast Review, and Trailer Park Quarterly. His work is forthcoming in The Showbear Family Circus, Passengers Journal, and The Oakland Review. He lives in Elkhart, Indiana with his wife, three cats, and two dogs. You can follow him on Twitter at @jotyleon and @TwyckenhamNotes.
Something Stays Behind
How long was this day? How vacant were the pills?
A kiss that tasted like iron, the electric scent of sawdust,
cold lips pressed against the glass; a feeling you could only
describe as sky. Or maybe it was a deer fighting the forest—
cheek to cheek, musk on bark for miles—only to end as blood
stained on asphalt, fur reflected on chrome. When drowning
becomes a reflex, becomes an empty field of open eyes at dusk.
When the last contrail folds into itself and becomes endless night.
And when it’s only us, what comes after dying?
What comes after all this time hiding from the light?
Sheila-Na-Gig online 