Sci-fi in America

he watches a show
about outposts of humans
fighting off
hordes of spore people
north america
wrapped in dread
the stumbling fungal
masses
appear from behind
mountains
from inside derelict
buildings
the hero
rides a horse to a chalet
in a blizzard
he has rescued
a woman
and now she must
kill him
inside the walled city
they hold off the
hungry undead
with exploding barrels
of kerosene
and sharp shooters
perched on ramparts
¡eso!
he yells
¡no lo mates!
he yells
next day
target parking lot
he is grabbed
and sent
with planeloads of men
to a fortress
within a different
walled city
men who traveled up
the umbilical cord
of the americas
seven countries
in seven years
working in car washes
bakeries
brake shops
hair salons
rushed in the night
into a zone
beyond landscape
and time
where their minds
will sprout
nightmares
of chase
and vampiric bites
that merge the victim
with the mycelium world

(Photo by Yael Martinez, from 2024 Day of the Dead show, National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago)