Halcyon

M. Wright

I open an eye to remind myself
I'm in a tent.
There are things
in the forest
above our tarpaulin
that remind me of that too.

We aren't far from Seattle.
We could hike today
to one of the world's largest
stockpiles of nuclear missiles
and make it back before midnight.

Yesterday on our aquarium tour
near the Puget
our tour guide informed us
of the weapons. They are
guarded, in part, by dolphins.

Dolphins near Seattle are protecting
the nukes.

I'm holding you
in a split-open sleeping bag,
imagining this.

My imagination is cartoonish.
The dolphins are wearing berets
like they belong
in the neighborhood watch.

It's a bit unnerving.
I hope they know
what they are doing.
They could really make a mess
of these things.

M. Wright is the author of the chapbooks a boy named jane (Bottlecap Press) and Dear Dementia (Ghost City Press) which was featured in the 25th annual Poets House Showcase. His poems have recently appeared in Glass Poetry, Jet Fuel Review, UCity Review, Wildness, and Saint Paul Almanac. Born in Chicago, M. currently resides with his lovely partner, Dylan, in Minneapolis. More: wrightm.com.