Justin Carter

DIRT

The rust haloed

the gas tank.

Dusty, this town

& all the trucks

that pile up

in the junkyard.

What's morning

& what does it say

about mourning?

How much sun

can the sky take

before it gives up?

This isn't prayer.

How do you kneel

for anything other

than selfishness?

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Justin Carter's poems appear in The Collagist, cream city review, The Journal, Redivider, & Sonora Review.