Managed to eke this one out between sneezes…

Drawn back the ragged hand
scratched by thorns
nails torn on jagged stones

Stained into fibres a studied melancholy
told in hoarse tones
jostling with gentle drones

Revealed beneath the excavated dirt
buried in layers
burned beyond recognition

Denatured the fragments once buried here
then a poison, now a vaccine

Is love safe to come home?

(25 June 2019)

Wishes sometimes have consequences is available—order now from your favorite local bookstore!

IndieBound search: https://www.indiebound.org/search/book?keys=wishes+sometimes+have+consequences

If they can’t get it for you, you can always find it on Amazon:
Hardcover: https://smile.amazon.com/Wishes-Sometimes-Consequences-Kevin-OConner/dp/0998878154/
Paperback: https://smile.amazon.com/Wishes-Sometimes-Consequences-Kevin-OConner/dp/0998878162/

Information about my other books can be found here.

Or there’s always the tip-jar thing: