Mat Gould

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she smiles at new faces

I am wearing a horn around my neck
not a bugle
but more of a devils antler or rhinos nose

although I could blow into it
it would not be the sound of sweetly tuned jazz
more of a solo groan or an ensemble of roars
the hollow notes of a poem recited or muttered
from off of the page
a chant

this horn is here for native purpose
to be used as hammer
blunt force or marking a spot with etching
a deep groove diagram for future blueprint

or maybe packed with gunpowder
that would suit use in a barrel or canon
six-shooter or muzzle

this horn can smuggle
this horn will secure the first of the gold
this horn makes for good jewelry
and this horn is to be used for the cup I am using it as now

she smiles at new faces
she doesn’t see them often, as is her liking
I let her wear the horn
she wears it well
she wears everything well

this horn is to be used for masquerade lingerie
or as protection from the mid-day marauder on escapade

this horn is buffalo or bull
this horn was taken from my own skull-

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Mat Gould has authored four books of poetry exclusively for Dog On A Chain Press. He has recently been included in their three-poet split chap Lantern Lit series. His work can also be found in numerous print and online journals. Gould stays bunkered in up a gravel road on the other side of a mountain in Western, North Carolina, keeping a close eye on his own and a steady yet at times drunken aim on the rest. He is currently whittling poems into a sharp point.