CJ MUCHHALA 

LESSONS FROM THE GARDEN FOR THE WAR MACHINE

Everything is dying or about to, the grass browning, 

leaves  yellowing.  Even  the  brilliant  July  sun  has

faded  to  a  sour  glow.   Only  Charlie  is  vigorous,

creeping   through  the   moldering  mulch,  choking

spent   plants  and  mushrooming  fungi.   Chemical

attacks  are  temporary  setbacks   while  a  surgical

strike, unlike the operation  suggested,  strengthens

Charlie’s   limbs  in   the  act  of  dismemberment  &

mass disruption by machine creates fingerling  roots    

which      spread          

            &                

                              spread                  &

                spread

                                   & 

CJ Muchhala has had poems in anthologies, journals, art/poetry installations, chapbooks, and most recently in New Poetry from the Midwest, Journeys II: the Art of Christine Alfery, and Eye to the Telescope. Her work was nominated for the Best of the Net and twice for the Pushcart Prize. She lives in Shorewood, WI.