The Fanatic

Upon the knowing horse he rode, paused, and picked a fair but gloomy rose,

The color of glass without and of the liquid locked within.

The horse of instinct walked in fear.

In a dark cave-home he conjured fire

And sat upon Eastern rugs and contemplated a vanished world.

"Someday the cave will grow into one-thousand chambers!" he mused, 

Surrounded by unseen and unknown marvels.

A purple glow fluoresced upon his face that turned to meet the source.

Waste comes from what was once the most precious fodder

And now passes glibly through the system of the vanishing-man,

Smooth & soft & gray & cool.

He becomes more precise, concise, and universally smooth & soft & gray, & cool—only then allowed to pass.

Fragments are scattered along the roads,

Bleeding heads and matted fur with unapparent connection

But connected by a concrete network.

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Pandel Collaros has taught at Bethany College (WV), Ohio State, and the University of Kansas. Published short fiction and poetry have appeared in OSU's Lantern and Mosaic Magazine, and Bethany College's Harbinger. Recent credits include an October 2025 poetry publication in Yellow Mama and a September 2025 short story publication in Chewers by Masticadores.