ode to the dead rat i found in my dairy queen blizzard
for a brief moment,
you saw the world
upside down.
for a brief moment,
the hair in my throat
was not my own.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
John Sara is a writer from Parma, Ohio. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Ashland University, where he teaches as an adjunct and edits for The Black Fork Review. His work has been featured in such places as Maudlin House, Blood+Honey, Bending Genres, BRUISER, Cul-de-sac of Blood, and more. His debut poetry collection, The Poet Who Cried Monster, was published by Alien Buddha Press in January of 2026. You can follow him on Instagram @darkbat616.
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Image: Cotton Candy Blizzard, Dairy Queen, Kingsville, Ontario, 2025-06-29.jpg
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