Father stuffed the tongue 
into his own mouth. Sealed 
with dried blood, the train
was absolutely pristine—
no token-booths,
no gates,
passengers stripping the body
in preparation.

[Found poem. Source material: Barker, Clive. Books of Blood: Volumes One to Three.New York: Berkley Books, 1998. 41. Print.]

Shannon Elizabeth Hardwick's work has appeared in Salt Hill, Versal, The Texas Observer, Devil's Lake, Four Way Review, Sugar House Review, Huffington Post UK, among others. A graduate from Sarah Lawrence College's MFA program, Hardwick serves as the poetry editor for The Boiler Journal and her first full-length, Before Isadore, was recently published by Sundress Publications.