Each Morning

Dawn burns through my window 
to wake me, and I am sick
of having a name.
I walk the streets, hair 
wild in wind. A half-dead hog
runs past, dragging ribbons
of intestine, his butcher
close behind with stained
blade raised and glinting.
All the junkies light their spoons
in unison, fill the air with vinegar
scent before tapping
the few remaining veins
between their toes. Banners 
of dead rats hang dripping
over the doors of every store.
The neighborhood children
bury rosebuds
under heaps of trash.
I whistle a contended tune
knowing that soon a fire
breasted bird will shut
the eyelid sky, set
a penny on this day.

Derek Annis is the author of Neighborhood of Gray Houses, which will be released by Lost Horse Press in March, 2020. Derek lives in Spokane, Washington, and holds an MFA from Eastern Washington University. Their poems have appeared in The Account, Colorado Review, Epiphany, The Gettysburg Review, The Missouri Review Online, Spillway, Third Coast, and many other journals.