Meow – Jonathan van Belle

 
 Fox Paolo and Fox Francesca sidewinding up the coop, 
 Tossing their sashes in the grass, under woody smooth breeze-blowing dusk. 
 Full moon of heavy feeding, jammy scoops; 
 Lop-eared hiccups in chicken lipstick of chicky juice. 
  
 We William-Tell-Overture off with a coiled rattlesnake shot!  
 I, you, hunt the koklass and quail and puritans and fox martyrs; 
 Our fangs splash a fizzy-dizzy demi-sec up and down; 
 Our puffing like one lung drowning and our horses huffing, hissing, kiffing. 
  
 Foxes off waltzing, fiddling, gobbling sponge cake, frosted dove, duck breast. 
 I love, I love the quacking pillows, muskets, mounted soldiers, 
 Fevers, heels, varnish, oomph, diamond-makers, divers  
 Kicking the waves seismic.  
  
 Spring’s cherry-wreathed fauns from wet tree limbs chirrup: 
 “Pollen, please, in every climate! 
 Tiers of rose-stuffed swans!  
 Piñatas of chocolate-covered bluebird hearts!” 
  
 I, you, meowing, 
 Guzzled as the titmouse does a wiggly wasp 
 In duet of bodies mixed up and off. 
 Ave landica, gratia plena! The hounds are hot!  
  
 I, you, Rossini, Mozart, Offenbach, in rabbit fur, fragranced, in reindeer antlers  
 Bucking, hamming, bellydancing from Acapulco to Woolloomooloo 
 On teacup tippy-toes, meowing  
 Below a naked man nailed to the mistletoe. 
  
 Dripping drum and galloping gulp and ultraviolet mouth 
 Peckish come to bite as a blush, as a burning church, into our plum; 
 Roost on us, rebellious bird, clawing hawk, twitchy twirler. 
 Siren, let the sourpusses see us sinning. 
  
 Bury our merlot sparrow spasms in bubbly bathoms. 
 With honeyed thyrsus whip off the monkish! Faster!  
 A taut, blasty quake and away the drainer, violator, diminisher, criticaster. 
 Howl and meow to Joy, my rose hip and Achelois.

Jonathan van Belle is a copy editor for Outlier.org, an online education platform. He previously worked as a bookseller at Powell’s City of Books. Jonathan is the author of several books, all available online, and is currently working on his first book for Deep Overstock Publishing.

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