A Form of Ashes
by J. B. Hogan
Like a fiery carcinoma it
spread,
burning anything in its way,
drying up sources and reservoirs.
Down from above it came,
from the top, the very gray top;
its stench barely confined,
its flames scarcely contained.
Then further down it slid,
down the ragged bony lengths,
separating, dissolving,
rending cartilage, nerve, and fat.
Until at last,
it reached out, pulling, claw-like, scorching
to the extremities themselves –
leaving in its aftermath a form of ashes,
an outline of what once had been,
a skeleton of lost potential
its life cavities great empty holes,
all fluids dissipated, their origins evaporated,
long eons now forgotten.
© 2009 J. B. Hogan
J.
B. Hogan’s flash fiction piece “Kerosene
Heat” was nominated
for a 2010 Pushcart Prize by Word
Catalyst (
www.wordcatalyst.com).
His dystopian novel New
Columbia was
selected in the “Best of Long Fiction 2009”
category by Aphelion.
His poem “Gray
Man” was selected as
one of
“The Best Pieces of 2009” by Cynic
Online Magazine
(www.cynicmag.com).
His prize-winning fiction e-book
Near Love Stories
is online at Cervena Barva
Press
(www.cervenabarvapress.com).
In
addition, he has over 100 stories and poems in such journals as:
Frontier Tales, Word Catalyst,
Aphelion, Istanbul Literary Review,
Cynic Online Magazine, Admit 2, Every Day Poets, Ranfurly Review, Dead
Mule, The Scruffy Dog Review, Smokebox, Gloom Cupboard, Rumble, Poesia,
Bewildering Stories, Avatar Review, Copperfield Review, Ascent
Aspirations, Megaera, and The
Square Table.
He lives in
Fayetteville,
Arkansas.
Find more by J. B. Hogan in the Author Index.
Comment on this story in the Aphelion Forum
Return to Aphelion's Index page.
|
