Dodo Eraser

which is not a metaphor for fear, nor is it something sexual: only the reality of the situation. Josh is working on a photo series about rebirth for his capstone & I’ve volunteered as a subject without knowing what I’d really said yes to, which is why I’m on the cold floor for hours, the temperature hovering in the high 40s, which isn’t bad if you’re clothed or your body is bereft of yogurt, but I am neither of those things. Every inch of me chatters. I think I should Google signs of hypothermia when this is over & I hope, eventually, it will be over. We should burn some trash for warmth, I say, because we often burn trash for warmth in this barn, but there is no answer but the click, click, click of the camera & the wind shaking the broken steel door.

Justin Carter is the author of Brazos (Belle Point Press). Originally from the Texas Gulf Coast, he currently lives in Iowa and works as a sports writer and editor.