GOD
the big reveal
MY GOODNESS
I mean
just a person
you said she was just a person
you said that about all of them
when you
were in that mood
and I was in that other mood
wherein I ripped them new assholes
in my imagination, grinning
but MY GOODNESS
you were right
just a person, she is,
after all, just a
person, a
SAD PERSON.
what am I supposed to do with that?
GOD
not the ending I envisioned,
really.
how many calories in this muffin?
how many dollars for these jeans?
this purse is vintage, this shirt, I found it
hanging around at the goodwill
how many notches on your belt sir?
how much for your heart and soul?
photo shoot nightmare, messed up terrible,
shake it off, retreat, duck under
metal heart she said, she was right
you know
how much for this stop sign ticket?
how many trips to urgent care?
how many times babe, how many times
just give me a number, I’ll count till
a hundred
buck up, move on, erase, let’s go
oh that denim
makes you look all hard body
and shit
“what’s your insta?”
“who’s your daddy?”
why this works is
anyones guess
your mouth is an automatic
weapon a full body
assault
little lamb, lost and delicate
tender meat, your
velveteen lungs
ripe with violent intent
or maybe not?
your mouth is an
elevator stomach
drooling, wet corners of
your mouth
your mouth!
who gets thanksgiving?
who gets Christmas?
unholy mouth,
it might as well be foaming!
baby lamb I crush you, hook
you, heat you up and
cook you
keep it to yourself next time
don’t forget I
know your
mouth
that one night when we
took candy from strangers cloaked
in zombie magic
wanted, someone to:
massage my feet in wee morning hours
replace toilet paper rolls
unclog drains and sometimes
other things
like hair traps
intestines
etc.
maybe a smattering of other household duties,
refrigerator cleaning
mildew killing
changing a small child’s pee
soaked bed sheets at probably
1am, possibly 4 if she’s
dehydrated
maybe some errands
returning library books, over-due
school pick ups
street sweeping tickets
and also most importantly: a qualified applicant
will keep me abreast of cultural capital
I want to be well read without reading
just give me the headlines, a brief synopsis
three sentences in bold face
a nice digestible slice
of societal pie
if you know someone who fits the bill
and is looking for a job
please let me know.
signed,
a lazy intellectual,
a hard working pessimist
a young and
restless beast of
a thing,
a mother
of exactly
too many to
keep it all
a-
float.
