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
