after City Rush, by artist Osnat Tzadok
Rush of relief, released from fire
hydrant. Children cluster to the spray.
100 degrees of daredevil dancing,
the regression draws adults, who linger
tentatively in the background, afraid
to fracture purity of this playful scene.
Each pressurized drop scours another layer
of worry. The run-off disappears through sewer
grates, a flush of forgotten. Freedom
glows in smiles of the masses, anonymous
limbs and hair, swinging, mingling,
indistinguishable from the mist.
A.J. Huffman has published thirteen full-length poetry collections, fourteen solo poetry chapbooks and one joint poetry chapbook through various small presses. Her most recent releases, Degeneration (Pink Girl Ink), A Bizarre Burning of Bees (Transcendent Zero Press), and Familiar Illusions (Flutter Press) are now available from their respective publishers. She is a five-time Pushcart Prize nominee, a two-time Best of Net nominee, and has published over 2500 poems in various national and international journals, including Labletter, The James Dickey Review, The Bookends Review, Bone Orchard, Corvus Review, EgoPHobia, and Kritya. She is also the founding editor of Kind of a Hurricane Press. www.kindofahurricanepress.com.
© 2015, A.J. Huffman
Halfway Down the Stairs 