Poet and Ultra Runner Chris Knodel At Zombie Logic Review

Chris ‘Irish Goat’ Knodel is an author, coach and ultra-distance runner in San Antonio, TX. He is a freelance journalist and writes a weekly syndicated newspaper column. He is often joined on the trails by his wife (newly moved to the ‘dark side’ of ultra-running). He can be easily spotted by his kilt, tattoos and six inch, flaming-red, Van Dyke goatee.


The Heist

He smelled the acrid stench of gun smoke. 
The shot’s echoes had ceased to carry. 
The guard was dead. 
The heist had gone sideways, but Sean needed the cash. 
He thought of Jenna. 
They couldn’t start over without this score. 
But murder… 
Sean jumped in the truck and left without her. 
The gold would be enough.

Chris Knodel

The Agent

I am waiting
It has been three years
I am missing from the rolls, no census will count me

I am alone
Isolated and drugged
Probed for information I will not divulge

I am a spy
An agent no agency will acknowledge
A liability no government would risk freeing

I am betrayed
My wife and therapist set me up
They had me placed in this off-the-books black site

I am insane
That’s what the guards call me
Just a regular guy who thinks he’s important

I am trained
I’ve already killed two of them
That’s why they keep me restrained and drugged

I am ready
My people will come for me
And I will strike back at the ones who betrayed me



As We Lie Still

As we lie still in
dampened grass, I feel as if
we’ve always been in this place.

I look upon your
skin’s pallid opalescence.
Its cold beauty gives me warmth.

You do not blink as 
you stare back. It is as if
we are beyond needing words.

It will be dawn soon, 
my love. I must leave you now,
as mere fodder for the crows.