Before Ecstasy
cold is the first sensation
the instinct to combust births itself
like leaves on October grass
awaiting the flint
peel yourself to the sky
sun pooling in your belly
to be that which draws spark
hunger for what engulfs you
broken atom billiard balls
the air itself primed to burn
we are kindling cradled in a hand
blown cautiously to life
Dan Wiencek is a poet, critic and humorist who lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and whose work has appeared in Sou’wester, New Ohio Review, Timberline Review, Carve and other publications. His first collection of poems, Routes Between Raindrops, is available from First Matter Press.
