after a month of failed 
treatments for an ear 
infection he finally sleeps 

without that gristled howl 
that woke him every three hours 
without his father lifting 

him out of the cinders by 
marching through the smoke 
telling him without faith 

that his hell would stop 
that these adults had any 
mastery over his fire-pocked 

body but finally 
the correct antibiotic and 
benadryl and 10 hours 

of rest filling up his eyes 
with contentment 
two handfuls of cool 

yogurt and dew-wet melon 
juicing over charred lips 
restoring a trust in the 

arrogant gods and the 
assurances we syringe 
into his open 

wounds 

Scott Ferry

As an RN in the great Pacific Northwest, Scott Ferry helps our Veterans heal. In other lives, he taught English and practiced acupuncture. He also serves as Senior Editor at Gleam: Journal of the Cadralor, and his writing appears in American Journal of Poetry, Cultural Weekly, KYSO Flash, MacQueen’s Quinterly, Misfit, Noble/Gas Qtrly, Slippery Elm, Spillway, and Swimming with Elephants, among others.

His third book of poetry, These Hands of Myrrh, is upcoming from Kelsay Books. His first collection, The only thing that makes sense is to grow, was published by Moon Tide Press in December 2019, and his second, Mr. Rogers kills fruit flies, by Main Street Rag in October 2020.

Author’s website: https://ferrypoetry.com