Elizabeth Howard lives in Crossville, Tennessee. Her work has appeared in Comstock Review, Big Muddy, Appalachian Heritage, Cold Mountain Review, Poem, Motif, Mobius, Now & Then, Slant, and other journals. Read more of her work in Still: the Journal.

Night Ghosts

crescent moon
the red fox
lying in the front yard
dreams she’s the family pet
signs up
for a month’s supply
of kibbles
prefers chicken
to beef

quarter moon
barn owl
likes chicken too
wants to hunt her own supper
a delicate downy morsel
resting
in the nest warmly

super moon
hour of doom
screams screeches
wild ecstatic laughter
fiery eyes of werewolves
at the broad window
bloody fangs of vampires
at the open door
chicken will not do

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