golden rings

cornered by the blackest fish
swims near my eye
closed and unclosed i find
how mirages widen
in my ever dreamy eyes
hornets nest fly
hats and wings have i
uncle brother born down
beaten path
and sorrow leapt from dirt
in tree base doors
full with hidden dresses
and time.

i follow no one

how narrow the path becomes
how short and grayed
serious cobwebs soften corners
stairs circle and fall
doors, unhooked, unlocked
decidedly broken
and the whisper of empty
follows me down the hall

i follow no one
i follow darkest hours
i follow dreams that chase me through waking
living ghost
you are a hollow being
carrying my weight
yet i find
you are a mirage of my deepest mind
the black secret i carry inside
you do not come to greet me
only to take me away

slumber's pose

a piece of grit in my eye
small imperfection
outdated by lifelong dreaming
always asleep it seems
never awake
eyes open in darkness
stars and spirals collide
blackness seems
whiteness is
and all that follows
in the deep heart of the beast
do not wake him
gentle in slumber's pose
crossed and barely breathing
yet alive

bone

when i was a young girl
i chewed off all my finger tips
prosthetics fit
but splintered bones
stuck between my teeth

rarely remember

yes, yes, i haven't forgotten.
no, no, i'll still be there.
be there, only once.
be there, again and at last.
ever so slowly, i suppose.
but i have a home,
i have a back home,
and a ring hidden in
a box of memories.
hidden but never forgotten.
no, no, never that.
"life isn't about forgetting,
it's about remembering.
yes, yes, life isn't about remembering,
it's about forgetting."
as he told me once,
on the ground,
overlooking the city.
we were laying in the dirt
and i didn't want to kiss you.
but you kissed me anyway.
i didn't want it,
but you did it anyway.
and i can't say i've forgotten,
but i rarely remember.
and i can't say i regret,
but rarely.

yes, her

her heart out of boxes,
seems unpacked and yet
taped in folds
across your own chest.
binding the sticky between us.
i feel her in me
and knowing
her hurts me
her husband
her child
wanting them for your own.
hidden,
but known.

into dust

i'm hunting, hunting, hunting
wing swept mountaintop
perched upon jagged rock
grounded by stone
pounded below
ground into dust
hairpin bend
mouth in hand
hollow seeming
hurt seeming
hung and
hard and
heavy between my legs.

the hollow

i walked into the wood.
leaves turned mush, wet rocks,
naked open mouth cave.
come inside me, holler for the echo.
mud between my toes.

in the fog of that night, the fog of vision past.
in the damp forest of a city,
orbs of light pass by me.
hollow alien brain, shapeless spirit animals,
trick of my ever dying eyes.

i wish for a great hollow,
now i have as such.
mercy make it be.
let it be.
i have done and done and have nothing but memorie's clutter...

your witch

in a brown paper bag.
swig of a saloon brushed fist of cuff.
pinch my nose, ram me to the bone.
sleepwalking beast come into my bed again
and again how do i not have your child in me?
not your witch, your Aphrodite.
yet none my own blood, taken i into you
yes over again. you into i
a default
i cannot muster how to say it otherwise.
and yet all together the trash
slimy baby blankets,
washed away wordless pages,
beast sit between us.
beast grown.
blinds me crushes me.