I have a headache,
though with the SAD lamp’s magic glow and all,
I receive it like a gift.
opening my palms for that hollow
shock of recognition: the familiar whine of too much, too bright.
what’s artificial?
which rays will hurt me most?
sitting on a stool in the bookstore, looking up
at the artfully caged bulbs
standing in line at the grocery store, the CVS
all the string lights flicker, all these people
wearing their own
respective underwear & all these hands
holding things
tasting their own leftover mouths.
Keep & Touch
I got lost so much
today, looping in circuits of dark
streets, my maps and various brains
clogging up with the faster
and slower routes.
My frozen phone
pushed me over the edge.
I passed an ER and felt urged to enter
all, excuse me, I have an emergency,
I need to use your wifi.
I’m tired of walking
down all these narratives!
Sometimes I want
to sit around all day
and describe things.
Legs parallel
to the blue. Buildings rising
up to reach the nightclouds
who resist the turn
from day.
The heart not a heart,
but a clot stuck pulsing
through a chest full
of bone & wind, breathing
as if the body were not predetermined
to end.
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