He’s a wildflower
for Elliot
jaw decorated with soft thorns
sticky when you try to pluck
the bloom of his groin or
rub the fine grasses
of his arms, chest, legs
search for that sweetness
like you would honeysuckle
tangled in your old backyard
July sun bearing down
on your bare shoulders
Austin Eichelberger
Austin Eichelberger is a native Virginian who completed his MA in 2009 and now teaches as much English and writing as he can manage in sunny, sprawling New Mexico. Over sixty pieces of his creative work have been published by (or are forthcoming) from journals and anthologies including Flash: The International Short-Short Story Magazine, Eclectic Flash, Gone Lawn, First Stop Fiction and others. He also serves as editor-in- chief of Tiny Text, a Twitter journal for fiction and memoir (@Tiny_Text). More of his writing lives here.