SurVision Magazine / Michael Zeferino Spring

I went into the art museum

I went into the art museum to find
the painting you said was you
I went inside its mushroom-shaped cromlech
to see us together as children again
to see us as if we were in our underground fort
I went in to see us lighting the candles
I went in to see us melting our plastic soldiers
we wanted to misshapen them
we wanted to make them monsters and superheroes
we were tired of the televised war
we had other wars to think about
we had no idea you'd lose your life in a war
when you disappeared from the cromlech
I ran outside to follow
I looked for you hiding in the grass
I looked for you in the sky
I finally saw you burning in the sunset
I watched you melt
I watched you dribble down the grassy hill
I watched you form into a door
and when I opened the door
I found myself outside the painting
the painting was floating on the white wall
I found myself touching the wooden frame
I imagined I was touching your face
the cromlech was no longer a cromlech
it was a mushroom made of glass panels
it was a mushroom with a thousand eyes
there was a boy inside the mushroom
there was a boy inside with flames for fingers
he was surrounded by candles

the radio

the radio, giant and bulky, gets in the way
of my dream
it is loud huffing and puffing, becomes a boxy bison
browsing the only path to the beach

I'm in a hurry, why won't it get out of my way
I can hear the fish calling for me
I want to find my way
to those depths I am so close to exploring

from the bison's ass I hear
AC/DC's "Highway to Hell"
and I'm now on a one-lane highway, stuck
behind what is now a cargo container
on roller blades

I call the flying hogs for help but they say
there's no switch to turn it off
even as it becomes the bulky radio again

Michael Zeferino Spring lives in Brookings, OR. He is the author of five poetry books. His most recent chapbook, Kahlo's Window (SurVision Books, 2022), was the winner of the James Tate Prize. Other poetry awards include The Robert Graves Award and The Turtle Island Poetry Award. He is an editor for The Pedestal Magazine and Flowstone Press.

SurVision Magazine
About Us Archive Submissions Contributors Books Resources Home Page
An international online magazine that publishes Surrealist poetry in English. Issue Fourteen MICHAEL ZEFERINO SPRING I went into the art museum I went into the art museum to find the painting you said was you I went inside its mushroom-shaped cromlech to see us together as children again to see us as if we were in our underground fort I went in to see us lighting the candles I went in to see us melting our plastic soldiers we wanted to misshapen them we wanted to make them monsters and superheroes we were tired of the televised war we had other wars to think about we had no idea you'd lose your life in a war when you disappeared from the cromlech I ran outside to follow I looked for you hiding in the grass I looked for you in the sky I finally saw you burning in the sunset I watched you melt I watched you dribble down the grassy hill I watched you form into a door and when I opened the door I found myself outside the painting the painting was floating on the white wall I found myself touching the wooden frame I imagined I was touching your face the cromlech was no longer a cromlech it was a mushroom made of glass panels it was a mushroom with a thousand eyes there was a boy inside the mushroom there was a boy inside with flames for fingers he was surrounded by candles the radio the radio, giant and bulky, gets in the way of my dream it is loud huffing and puffing, becomes a boxy bison browsing the only path to the beach I'm in a hurry, why won't it get out of my way I can hear the fish calling for me I want to find my way to those depths I am so close to exploring from the bison's ass I hear AC/DC's "Highway to Hell" and I'm now on a one-lane highway, stuck behind what is now a cargo container on roller blades I call the flying hogs for help but they say there's no switch to turn it off even as it becomes the bulky radio again Michael Zeferino Spring lives in Brookings, OR. He is the author of five poetry books. His most recent chapbook, Kahlo's Window (SurVision Books, 2022), was the winner of the James Tate Prize. Other poetry awards include The Robert Graves Award and The Turtle Island Poetry Award. He is an editor for The Pedestal Magazine and Flowstone Press.
Copyright © 2024 SurVision Magazine