Pulse Etheree
I
prune the
first flush of
my roses, come
inside. On TV
Anderson Cooper can’t
keep it together, reading
names of shooting victims at Pulse,
a packed gay night club in Orlando.
His job is to keep it together, but
how? And why should he or anyone keep
it together when men keep blasting
everything apart, high on hate
unchecked and power, when flushed
dancing boys are pruned with
their rainbow petals
only just warmed
to bloom toward
newfound
sun?
Kerry Trautman
Pronouns: She/Her
1 Poem
Pulse Etheree
Kerry Trautman (she/her) is a poetry editor for Red Fez, and her work has appeared in various anthologies and journals such as Midwestern Gothic, Rat's Ass Review, Alimentum, Slippery Elm, Paper & Ink, and Free State Review. Her poetry books are Things That Come in Boxes (King Craft Press 2012,) To Have Hoped (Finishing Line Press 2015,) Artifacts (NightBallet Press 2017,) and To be Nonchalantly Alive (Kelsay Books 2020.)