floating and leaving no trace
make a mess of it all
dissect living flesh without anasthetic
sow seeds to pluck later
sin’s littler flowers, rose-scented petals
so many, many thorns
feel the bones around the eyes
zygomaticocfacial foramen
posterior lacrimal crest
exotic birds waiting to sprout feathers
or fossilize like the ancient dinosaurs
they are
look at the t. rex skeleton
who says
hens don’t have teeth
i watched the water
take the soap
in a small spiral
down the drain
it carried the dirt of the day
i try to turn and make my way back
the hands are firm on my shoulders
and pull me toward clouds like columns
drag me, really, but my feet
rip through the cool cumulus
like it’s cotton candy
i swat at the hands
but we pick up speed
soon we will be through
those gates
which will close irrevocably
i imagine all those people
i spent so much time avoiding
and now they’re all in there
my shirt is covered in sins
like stains from every
spaghetti dinner i ever ate
every misstep plain as day
written on me
written on my clothes
tattooed on my face
a small greek chorus rushes behind me
trying to keep up
strolling left to right to left
listing
listing
listing
everything i have ever done
i am convinced the same thing
happens in hell
but everyone there refuses to hide
their disappointment
but here they will make excuses for you
you won’t have to defend yourself
but the damn greek chorus
refuses to shut up
and my mouth fills with clouds
everything is ashes in my mouth
they taste like graveyard dirt
rife with greasy sins
of the dead
and those waiting to be reborn
eager to work off karmic burdens
the universe will not last
as long as their labors
long ponderous chains
manacle my hands and
hobble my ankles
i smell the smoke of regret
and envy
and it is my own flesh
that burns
filling my nostrils
squinting my eyes
reveals a swarm of black
wriggling tadpoles
my vision
affected by the flaws
in my soul
they creep on the mirror of the soul
these swimmers
these floaters
sins casting about
for a way off this flatland
Words and Feathers 