Friday, November 13, 2026: A.J. Huffman's " I Wanted Wings" and "Crying in Implausible Buildings"

I Wanted Wings

when I laid on the beach

just beyond the house that was still

too definitively yours. I sank

my toes into the damp sand,

gave myself over to the sinking

feeling of being pulled under.

The cloudless sky offered no reprieve

for my burning. I had no doubt

I would be ashes soon,

and I imagined the kiss of evening’s

breeze lifting me—my charred darkness

blending seamlessly into a starless sky.

Higher and higher I would rise,

an arid wave, grateful

for a moment of effortless breathing

before the inevitable crash.

Crying in Implausible Buildings

You promised me nothing

and blamed me for everything

as I trembled in your dreams

like a rabbit far too aware

of the fox’s proximity.

I did my best

to mock your prayers and feign my innocence,

but I was born as guilty as the color red,

and frankly, enjoyed the sinister smell

of charring flesh—

even when there was still a possibility

that it was my own.

© A. J. Huffman

Bio: A.J. Huffman is a poet and freelance writer in Daytona Beach, Florida. She has published 27 collections and chapbooks of poetry. In addition, has published her work in numerous national and international literary journals.