Zeitgott

We were vampiric in our upside-down
Cave love; her blood’s gross.
I want her to drag me

Around town like a torn cape.
When I say her name, I slay her name
Until my body-lights

Go out. I say her name until her name
Is all I have inside my head
And I am totally not tempted

To deep-search the island
For someone new; I don’t plan
To peruse for new companions, unless—

I found a waterfall.

Author of the article

Forrest Rapier has poetry and prose forthcoming in 2River and LIT Magazine. His debut collection, As the Den Burns, was published by Texas Review Press in 2022. Recently, he received the Dean’s Award for Doctoral Excellence at Florida State University and he is a finalist for the 2026 Apogee Poetry Chapbook Award. Read his work in The Swannanoa Review and Watershed Review.