I am not a merry chaser—I know
there is more than one roadrunner

darting mountains in wasteland
sand. But you had me at I want

to be elusive; two cannot run
together but here is a burning

slice of sun for you to hurdle.
And your love set me airborne,

a rocket depositing Wile E.
Coyote in empty sky, hands

reaching for absence, time
and time again. Thing is though:

I’m not a Looney and my body
is combustible— it can only recover

from being flattened by boulders
once. Still, here I am, the epitome

of Want—hunger, the only muscle
lining my bones, your indelicate

blood already coating
my tongue—We had a moment.

I know you are meant for me,
to dangle by the neck

from my teeth. But, your instinct
will never allow surrender.

So, let’s get me filled up
with bullets. We can take this

one Acme product at a time;
I’ll even give you a head start.

Hollie Dugas lives in New Mexico. Her work has been included in Barrow Street, Reed Magazine, Qu, Redivider, Porter House Review, Blue Earth Review, EPOCH, Salamander, Poet Lore, The Louisville Review, The Penn Review, Breakwater Review, Third Coast, RHINO, Sixth Finch, Gordon Square Review, Phoebe, Broad River Review, and Louisiana Literature. Hollie has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and for inclusion in Best New Poets.