The Nightmare of a Coal Tattoo

The Nightmare of a Coal Tattoo Last night she dreamed of a coal tattoo running in black rivers across his body. Thin bands etched out who he was marking where he had been— outlined a sketch that could not be undone. Across his exhausted body a mineral map seeped into his wrinkles, poured from his pores, violated his veins, flooded the shadowy caverns of his heart. Mining from the earth, the world utilized him as a resource, abundant, no need to renew. Mined from the earth, he left behind a gaping, midnight mouth, black, bleeding veins, and her alone with the nightmare of a coal tattoo. —Jess Stanfill 15 ...