by Jessica Dionne

“Anywhere there are good and bad spirits, but the more there is hardship, the more bad spirits come around”—Ivan Posey, Eastern Shoshone Council 

Last seen tearing down the lane on thick
thighs like thunder-bang, Jr. queen of Wind
River Res. Last seen wresting things out of
cracks in scorched earth, holding them up
to the light. Last seen laughing, head thrown
back like a hallelujah. Last seen curled up
in scrub-grass with friends, blowing kisses
to a bottle of Black Velvet. Last seen enraptured
by the crack-up of baby bird bones, that lissome cull.

Last seen cheeks currant with scatter-heat,
the kind that roils. Last seen in any bar, in every bar.
At a parade. The gas station. At 11:09.
Last seen hair the color of crow although, one that
cannot fly. Last seen on an encrusted couch, legs
draped like an afterthought. Last seen covering
breasts like mountain peaks that they will not
know. Last seen mouth cherry O, forming the
word no, lips fused around pearls.

Last seen in Hot Springs County, before the first
snow. Last seen bruises blooming up an arm like
nothing else in this place can. Last seen inky locks
in the river, tangling. Last seen clavicle-splintered.
Last seen bones with gnaw-marks made from things
which scurry home to nests, grateful for small gifts. Last
seen a body, sparkling like a thing yet to be discovered.
Last seen as a scream, clawing its way out of a red, red mouth.

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Jessica Dionne is an MFA candidate at North Carolina State University. She received her MA in Literature from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her work has appeared in Rust + Moth, Banshee (IE), Mascara Literary Review (AU), The Mayo Review, The Longleaf Pine, and JMWW. She also received a writing residency from the Weymouth Center of the Arts and Humanities.