a word woke him from his desperate sleep

  

                                    etched against an obscure background of percolated skulls crumbling

organic debris sticks nettle and mousenests  a humbleness dispossessed by the faint-of-heart and the intolerant Haves whod rather shut their eyes to its existence  sleep better at night  in pleasant hobblenailed dreams and disregard

 

it woke him slowly

appeared 

         and played with his hair as his mother did or he imagined she did when he was a boy  there wasnt much time for tenderness  or gentleness  or cuddled listening to the others beating heart which may have been the only thing that proved they loved each other

words werent indelible or worth their wasted breath

 

it woke him slowly

                then possessing a rude hand it cracked his cheek and shook his teeth

aroused his scorn

 

he despised its letters and thought if he could steal one it would fail nonsensical and tumble in on itself    erode

it would leave him to his sleep cautiously waiting beside his twitching wrist

 

the word that woke him burned 

                          a hot spiteful ember in his twisting plastic brain

it scarred and scorched his arched bone

it punched a pinhole in his skull that thinned and charred and collapsed raining clot and dull ash that fell past his soiled goosefeather pillow

past its still sheerwhite herringbone remains                                                                                

it fell through the blackedged mattress and spiraled heat-burnished boxspring

                        

past the planked floor that provided him solace when near madness he pounded it and it refused to give way punishing his hands and forehead

bruising him

ridiculed him

 

reminded him he bent his spine to gather on his knees

that his manhood stood erected on pliable iron hinges and bolts

           

mutely telling him to get to his feet and use his hands and fists against something that would submit

it fell past the planked floor into the stonewall cellar whose inhabitants earthlings marveled and were amused by its firestorm  meteorite shower 

it reformed happily on the insensitive cool dirt floor and belched its name because he wouldnt

                                                                                                         incendiary

 

1159,  Friday,  18  3. 16

1444,  Friday,  19  7. 16