Neopoet.com

Cheap cologne is skulking along the hallway walls,
the odor of dead moderation– there is oil in the sink,
in the same spot where I spat before, before there was
infection simmering beneath my teeth–

Sores spawned from the crumpled paper skyscrapers living in
the trash can, in disjointed harmony with nuclear reactors
and molding ketchup packets – I’m shaking in claustrophobic
squares and dots flooded with actors and talk show hosts,
on screen robots, the ghosts of heroism and free speech –

Like leeches, it clings–I see the steam around his lips,
he’s trying to breathe beneath a mask of shrink wrap– I saw
a shrink in the summer– She said “Lie down here” and
I left my skin stuck on the vinyl–Suffocating must be
an awful way to end, I thought as his eyes fell to dusk,
to be dull and collect dust and decompose–

I’m wishful for a little madness in the springtime with
symphonies of chimes and early birds– With worms
cold beneath my toes, I see the roses turn to blood and
creatures in the mud creep and slither.  I’ve met serpents
on staircases and beady eyes bounce like marbles which
spin from slingshots into sockets–A little girl dangles
her locket over the sea–she’s worn and her knee caps
are eroding from walking alongside dead end dreams–

Static screams tiptoe along computer monitors and TV
screens–The tension is wound with wires and human hair,
strands of rat tails and DNA samples.  I scraped the inside
of my mouth until it was raw with blood and oil spilling,
pulling out pockets of his tongue from my tonsils–   I stared
into the Sun and I heard my eyeballs cringe and vomit up
picture frames and flesh-pulling fingertips–

I’m slipping forward onto my knees and dipped
in summertime schemes and leaving my covers
collapsed with vagabond vacancy– I’ve divorced
the husband of suitability and fallen into disrepair
with the perverse family of symmetry.