for Michael Mushrush Take off your mask. If you have one. Let the world feel your wounds. The first one to scream is your angel. Close your eyes. And follow its wings. If it bleeds you are damned. But forgiveness was never an option anyway. So shake it off. And smile louder. True terror lies. Locked behind teeth. Broken. By a soul.
A.J. Huffman is a poet and freelance writer in Daytona Beach, Florida. She has published 27 collections and chapbooks of poetry. In addition, she has published her work in numerous national and international literary journals. She is currently the editor for Kind of a Hurricane Press literary journals ( www.kindofahurricanepress.com ).
If you liked this poem, you might also like the dark, modernist short story “The Masks” by Kimberley Luxton.