Foreclosure

i.

Where are they now?

Iron tumbleweeds.

Emerald city slums.

Castles of mud being

raptured into the sky.

And when the sun comes out,

you say it’s best not to look at it.

ii.

A child on my block fell off his bike

and skinned his knee. He threw dirt

when I tried to help him up and laid

there until his tears were reimagined

as strength. Meanwhile, ants carried

his blood half a mile from our neighborhood.

Who the hell needs that kind of pride?

iii.

On the news today, they interviewed

a woman in Pasadena who sold a slice

of toast with F.D.R.'s face burned into it.

It went for over $20,000 at auction.

I thought it looked sort of like Jesus,

but when you looked at it, you saw

your mother standing in the rain.

iv.

When we’re asked to recreate the Gospels

the first person to step up will be Michael Bay.

Some things never change.

v.

Columbus found the Americas,

the same way Descartes found existence,

the same way my brother found bourbon,

the same way a politician finds religion—

It was always there,

so just be careful with it.

And by the way,

we're all afraid of snakes.

John Leonard is an award-winning writer, educator, and poetry editor for Twyckenham Notes. He holds an M.A. in English from Indiana University. His previous works have appeared in Poetry Quarterly, december, Chiron Review, North Dakota Review, Roanoke Review, Punt Volat, The Windsor Review, Rappahannock Review, Jelly Bucket, Mud Season Review, The Blue Mountain Review, Genre: Urban Arts, Stonecoast Review, and Trailer Park Quarterly. He lives in Elkhart, Indiana with his wife, three cats, and two dogs. You can follow him on Twitter at @jotyleon and @TwyckenhamNotes.