Even though he had been gored through his heart in a fight—

they kept it to honor their family patriarch

who often said that he admired his foe

that el toro was a symbol of life

all of us live as we live

and die when we die

and neither can we change

Jeremy Mullen is from Highland Park, New Jersey and has been writing poetry for 35 years. He has been featured in each of the last four issues of This Broken Shore, a NJ literary journal. Apocalyptic poetry is kind of his obsession--especially since the pandemic.