plump yer pillow

eat a cabbage

become shallow

fold over twice

 

invest your neuroses

replenish your thirst

assume the position

check for lice

 

self-inflicted burn

crippling movement

tragic wrong turns

retarded improvement

 

cry out the jingle

that haunts you most…

build a strong mindset

to strengthen your ghost…

 

dangerous minds

forge this path

hiding behind

the commoners’ wrath

 

we want relief when we choose boredom;

we’ll only find it when we’re post-mortem

 

i fall into cracks

i breathe night

i strain against straps

i bleed light

 

run around me

trap me in your cone

fill me with hollow words

and fail to hear my own

 

 

i’ve gotten thin

on a diet of clichés

give me a book

on how to live my days

 

and care…

and bear…

and share…

and repair…

… please don’t despair.

(Bring a Valium and lots of patience.

There’s a place in my lap that’s always vacant.)

 

humans are filthy animals to house and keep

swapping inhalers

slippery and sleek

 

frozen root

by and by

dead head in suit

die by die

 

twitching with fleas

ringing ears

can’t sleep with a low IQ

it’s hell to get old-

time to walk the stairs

y’know, you remind me of you

 

in the ground, babies are born

and today’s visions aren’t free

it’s the triumvirate’s slave trade, and you’re formed

the way they want you to be.