Artwork: The Greater Good by Will Jacques
Eternal Vigilance
Donna Hooley
Hit the gas when the werewolf jumps out in the road.
They always pose proud as a poodle
Right in the headlights.
Do not hesitate; you have only a moment:
Those bastards are fast.
Do not drive your convertible with the top down
In zombie country, including the traditional
Graveyards or forests in the fog, as well as
The more modern venue,
A Walmart parking lot.
Always have your keys on your person
So when you have to make a run for it,
Pursued like Orestes by the Furies,
Or those dogs from The Omen,
Or a turned and frothing
Attack Blonde in a red power suit,
You can multitask on the gallop,
Pleading with Athena or
Flailing with a cudgel while you
Get that engine going.
Windshields always yield
To assaults from beasties
That drip drool or blood,
And screaming only encourages them.
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Time Out
Donna Hooley
When it’s at the worst,
Maybe in the middle,
Far beyond the before
And the first lost hope,
The part when you
Are maybe in the middle,
Submerged in sweat
And greasy hair,
Face averted from
The search to tap another vein,
Waiting for the the blinds
To glow, yet fearing
The welcome day.
Then remember now
Can maybe
Be the middle
Of what will become
Just a memory at last.
