An excerpt from
Dog Ear
by Jim Johnstone
Parachute
Packed, it rests
its wings
like a vampire
bat, a cape
branded
by scaffolding
that mimics
its spine. At
ten and two
the heavens
open – judge
deferring
to executioner,
shrapnel
reassembled
bearing
the inscription
KEEP CALM
AND CONTINUE
TO SIN. How
close can one
be brought
to the ground
without
touching? Pull
the cord
and suffer
each vertebrae’s
dislocation,
the big bang
of a second skin.