Process, Not Product
by Scott Wiggerman
Start with a setting. A forest
in the mountains east of Albuquerque
will do. Add a sprinkle of moonlight
straining through the pinnacles of pines
as they shift and swoosh like fields.
And enough breeze to catch movement
around you—an animal skittering
across the forest floor, a branch falling.
Throw in a back story. A retreat
from an overbearing boyfriend. Time
to think things through. Blend in
a twist. A scruffy stranger
who approaches your camp site
at dusk. His leer as he fondles
a knife. The mindless run, the pure
escape to directionless darkness,
flickering shadows circling about.
Include a stumble—and blood, dribbling
down your head, your gashed hand.
Mix in a mountain lion—or even
just its low roar from a distance.
Scatter in a parcel of prayers.
It’s going to be a godforsaken night,
and the end is entirely up to you.
in the mountains east of Albuquerque
will do. Add a sprinkle of moonlight
straining through the pinnacles of pines
as they shift and swoosh like fields.
And enough breeze to catch movement
around you—an animal skittering
across the forest floor, a branch falling.
Throw in a back story. A retreat
from an overbearing boyfriend. Time
to think things through. Blend in
a twist. A scruffy stranger
who approaches your camp site
at dusk. His leer as he fondles
a knife. The mindless run, the pure
escape to directionless darkness,
flickering shadows circling about.
Include a stumble—and blood, dribbling
down your head, your gashed hand.
Mix in a mountain lion—or even
just its low roar from a distance.
Scatter in a parcel of prayers.
It’s going to be a godforsaken night,
and the end is entirely up to you.
Scott Wiggerman is the author of three books of poetry: Leaf and Beak: Sonnets, Presence, and Vegetables and Other Relationships; and is the editor of several volumes, including Wingbeats: Exercises & Practice in Poetry, Bearing the Mask, and Weaving the Terrain. His poems have appeared recently in Chiron Review, Unlost, Pinyon Review, Better than Starbucks, and Allegro Poetry, as well as the queer anthology Lovejets. Scott lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with his husband, writer David Meischen.