I wake up to find out a guy who bullied me in highschool has died of an overdose by Jordan Ranft
The obituary talks of his smile.
I imagine it breaking
through his face like a thunderhead,
frantic like a hunted bird.
Imagine it breaking
into a room it was not invited.
Frantic, like a hunted bird
remembers who sent the buckshot
into a room it was not invited.
This morning I learn
he remembered to send the buckshot
to his blood and then his heart.
This morning I learn
what I mean when I say thunderhead.
To his blood and then his heart,
I’m not angry anymore.
What I mean when I say thunderhead
is that storms don’t pick their victims.
I’m not angry anymore
my blood is just as eager.
Storms don’t pick their victims
Says the obituary, says his smile.
Jordan Ranft was born and raised in the greater SF Bay Area. In 2015 he competed at the National Poetry Slam on team Berkeley and made it onto finals stage, eventually placing third overall in the nation. He is currently studying creative writing and critical analysis of literature at the University of California, Davis and recently completed a 35 page manuscript of poetry for the honors thesis program. He has been published in ZAUM, Barehands Poetry, Rust+Moth, and has work forthcoming in the print anthology Milkfist.
