Three Poems by A.J. Huffman

Grasshoppers

the size of my fist invade our yard

every year.  They scare my Chihuahua,

scale the fences.  They pause to pose

for pictures I take in documentation

of their return.  Their skin glows

gold and green in the flash.  I can feel their eyes

full of confused curiosity towards this stranger

they encounter annually. 

Birth of a Spore Tree

Young frond unfurls slowly, delicate

antennae of life, tiny finger, reaching for sun.

No wooden supports required,

these lignin limbs will eventually stretch

thirteen feet high.  Enduring

tropical conditions, exposed

until final eruption, a crown

of fern-like fronds.

Warning!

Bonfires are forbidden on the beach

after sunset.  Endangered turtle hatchlings

confuse the warmth and light for the sun,

follow it blindly, sacrificing themselves

to the flames.

A.J. Huffman has published eleven solo chapbooks and one joint chapbook through various small presses.  her new poetry collections, Another Blood Jet (Eldritch Press), A Few Bullets Short of Home (mgv2>publishing), and Butchery of the Innocent (Scars Publications) are now available from their respective publishers.  She has two additional poetry collections forthcoming:  Degeneration (Pink Girl Ink) and A Bizarre Burning of Bees (Transcendent Zero Press).  She is a three-time Pushcart Prize nominee, a two-time Best of Net nominee, and has published over 2300 poems in various national and international journals, including Labletter, The James Dickey Review, Bone Orchard, EgoPHobia, and Kritya.  She is also the founding editor of Kind of a Hurricane Press.  www.kindofahurricanepress.com.