Jonathan Hayes- Three Poems

jonathan hayes lives in santa cruz, california with his wife and their cat.
for the past twenty years he's been responsible for the american small press magazine,
over the transom. his last book was "american haiku" (mel c. thompson publishing, 2013).



Last Night of the Pumpkin

It glowed brilliant orange in the neighborhood
Bugs festering within it and annoying the air
Its candle held ground still lit in its belly
While in the cold distance our cat pounced on mice
The front yard dark at night with an October breeze
“The horror, the horror,” the mice bleeped
Then in her arms the wife brought the cat back home like a child
After bowing down to blow the pumpkin’s candle out for the night



Last Smoke

I wait for the storm
The strong breeze

Lightning!

To rattle the street signs
By the constant highway

The feral rabbits by the river
And the very dark levee of wine

Sometimes a black cat
Will introduce the full moon

The river is a creature sleeping
In her own blankets of ripples

On the river bank
A heron hides like a ninja

This is open game



Ghost

A river rat walked into the local bookshop
Took a chair in the corner reading magazines

A dead fly fell from under the cuff of his denim jeans