How did I
come to this storm --
hot tea, and a chair,
on a precipice
swirling in red dust?
I forged 
a desert within --
a heart
with no ornament,
a language
for struggling.
A sun is 
waxing scarlet --
no place
for morning.

Meg Smith is a writer, journalist, dancer and events producer living in Lowell, Mass. Her poetry and fiction have appeared in Dark Dossier, Strange Horizons, Silver Blade, Bewildering Stories, Raven Cage, The Horror Zine, The Cafe Review, Poetrybay, Siren's Call eZine, and more. She has served as a board member for Lowell Celebrates Kerouac!, which sponsors a festival honoring Lowell native Jack Kerouac. Her recent poetry books. Dear Deepest Ghost and This Scarlet Dancing, are available on Amazon.