Contributor: John Ogden

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When the box opens
when the night opens
when all that I have hidden
comes spilling into the light
when the dragon wakes
when she breathes her golden fire
wakens
oh Black Widow Woman
I will stand
I will smile
I will suck the hole
harsh burning in my heart
and hold fast my venom.

I will hold my venom for her
I will hold my curdled soul hostage
and know
that I am better
that I am all
she could have been
for me
all
she never was.


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John Ogden was conceived of a government form and a passing mailbox. He lives somewhere out in the woods of a rural land more akin to the fantasy realms of literature than real life, and his favorite dirt bikes will always be the broken ones.