Steve Klepetar

Home Fires

We read our futures
in fireplace flames

listening to the snap
of burning logs,
eyes turning inward

as we breathe sweet
smoke, and after
many hours we speak

in a dead language
incised on our tongues.

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Steve Klepetar’s father once told him that the Latin for “bang bang” was “bangum bangum,” and the poor kid believed him.

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