Scared Violent Like Horses () von John McCarthy

“A stunning overlap of a lost boy and lost landscape through the lens of a gifted poet’s magical linguistic and storytelling abilities.” —VICTORIA CHANG

ContentsSwitchgrassI.HymnPie Tins behind Porch LightsPortrait of the Only Child with Tire SwingSelf-Portrait as Stolen BikeNorth End IAs If the Shirt Were Standing up Straight, Hand RaisedHungerWord ProblemCremationNoise Falling BackwardNorth End IICallousingSelf-Portrait as Home Run BallThe Scarecrow’s Reflection Is an Only ChildBloodmealLittle Ticks of Blood and the Taste of Dead LeavesUntil I Learn That Please Is the Color of a BruiseNorth End IIIVandalismII.Flyover CountryI. [If You Stay Long Enough]II. [Of Motherhood, a Fierce Drowning]III. [Long Day of the Factory Belt]IV. [The Taste of Copper]V. [To Sever Anything]VI. [To Riven Stillness]VII. [Renders and Yields]III.Scared Violent Like HorsesThe Decapitation of Paul BunyanThin Napkins Sprinkled with SaltNorth End IVLast RitesSelf-Portrait as Psychiatric WardDefinitions of BodyOur Mother Stolen in a PotholeNorth End VBaptismDaguerreotypeConfirmationNorth End VIWhat I Mean When I Say I Don't Box AnymoreA Brief History of FriendsOn FightingLove is Like a Horse Set on Fire from the InsideWild Vision of What Is RealSometimes I Call the Damage HealingAnd Other Acts of MercyUpon Learning That Years Later the World Did Not EndI Was Finally Able to Talk about the Wild HorsesGuide and Guard Us Far and NearNotesAcknowledgments