i keep feeling that in society i should be a dog
a magnet
a pie
a deep-seated unfailing thing
proof of income
matrimony
some grubby little schoolkid’s hand
a ball of yarn
a mountain of little tiny rocks that all make up the mountain
the shape fits in your mouth so perfectly
mountain
it's like you could swallow it whole
before you even learned to swallow
when you still just spat up breast milk
reduced the water to a simmer on the stove
brought out the candlelight to show you
          we are from a distinguished ppls
before the government could garnish your wages
when all was still horsehair
and caravaggio still painted portraits of the milkmaid
before the sistine chapel
before greed
and blood for money
our mouths ran a radical séance
spitting stories like cantaloupe seeds
round the fire
paper wasn't even introduced!
it was just free verse from one mouth to the next
polly wore her hair in free loose curls
the choir was broke and in need of a pianist
but sang anyway
the rhyme was like
“hey i'm sorry it didn't belong on the internet”
which really meant
“i was built with intent”
the spider lassoes the edge of the web
spring is here and we are all rotten
the cave of a ship holds my uncle's tooth
and i forgot how to read
they said screaming is what kept them most alive
and for this i have failed
father please, let some light in
first by talking to me
i feel nothing
are we docked on an ancient seaboard?
has time altogether stopped?
or am i just not befit to pace with its gentle edges
have i round the corner one too many times
pull me over if you’re a cop
whip me with a bull pin
tie my ankles
hang me upside down
i'll be just fine
till the cows come home
you can reevaluate my credit report in this time
you can challenge what disillusions
still prevent me from happiness