9/19/2026
Brian Eckert
I hiked
to 7 waterfalls
not a one
had a drop
to drink
I saw three rattlesnakes
one of each variety :
Western, Timber, Eastern
they each held a gift
for some other poet
I held their tails
so the baby could sleep
a dead skunk decays
in the left lane of the highway,
another skunk crosses my path
three hours later—
humid haze shines
from the alpenglow
of first light
mouth full of sores
pocket full of litter
roadside full of wildflowers
heart full of wonder
and hope
‡‡
BRIAN ECKERT is a PhD candidate in English at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. He has been a bartender, farm hand, fry cook, landscaper, and substitute teacher. Brian was born and raised in rural Indiana before attending Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. In 2019, Brian was diagnosed with leukemia and spent several years undergoing intensive chemotherapy treatments, while also completing undergrad, and then starting and finishing a Master’s of Liberal Arts degree at Johns Hopkins University in May of 2022. He lives in Fayetteville and enjoys driving through the mountains and visiting every used bookstore.
