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Marlin M. Jenkins

Pokédex Entry #4: Charmander

From the time it’s born, a flame burns at the tip of its tail. Its life would end if the flame
were to go out.


As a charmander grows into the dragon-
​          winged charizard, this wick becomes
                    strong enough to force everyone away

with a single swish if it wishes. This ability to clear
           any space with just your tail, let alone the fire
                     you breathe—how far is it from pilot-light

to core? How many times have you watched
           the orange whimper in a storm, or when sick?
                    Where do you lie still when the dread hits? When

you consider swerving the car into oncoming traffic?
           When you wish your skin transitioning translucent,
                     hold the wine-opening knife to your arm and

the next day wear long sleeves, wishing you won’t
           see anyone you love? When pushing everyone away
                     isn’t by choice? Perhaps there’s a mountainside or

maybe a cave you hide away in, sleep when the fading
           isn’t always explainable. Sometimes the world is just
                     too much, and we lie alone and motionless; we say

the cleared cavern is just where we go when
          we need space, and we wait, hoping to become one
                     with the temperature of the room.

Pokédex Entry #133: Eevee --> Entry #197: Umbreon

Its genetic code is unstable, so it could evolve in a variety of ways. There are only a few
alive.

-->
When exposed to the moon's aura, the rings on its body glow faintly and it's filled with a
mysterious power.


             that which could have been
anything but is color
                           of a cloudless night

            resilient even
in small frame, how the creature
                           builds its own defense
​
            to take affliction
and mirror—see the damage
                           back on the pain’s cause

           glow on black body
like Bruce Leroy—unlikely
                          light where none else is

          Umbreon, I pulse
my dark, too—or am learning--
                          music as offense

          my affinity
for shadows—identity
                          wrapped tight in myself--

        dark, lonely aura
protection—recovering
                          here in the moonlight

Marlin M. Jenkins was born and raised in Detroit and studied poetry in University of Michigan's MFA program. His writings have been given homes by The Collagist, Four Way Review, The Journal, and Bennington Review, among others. He is an editor for HEArt Online, and you can find him on Twitter @Marlin_Poet. His favorite pokémon is umbreon.​
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