5 till curtain
5 till my character rises again
5 till they spill my guts
5 till smiles hide death

Thank you 5
I hate you 5

Watch the wild winds of a whipsy whim
Courage
Cure for the caged coward covering care
Valor
Value validates the victim of violence
Patience
Paint pride in the presence of perturbed people

A wind
A ghostly breeze
Kissing stone foreheads
Before screaming
In my ear

The prize
The prize
That was not the prize

There is a hot sting not to wear gold
Nor silver, nor copper, nor soft satin

There is a gnawing hunger
Not to gain,
Check,
Dollar,
Nor nickel.

But
The prize
The prize
Those were not the prize

I crave that first voice
That tongue dancing my song
Those lips kissing my ink
Those teeth chewing in ecstasy
The words I wrote
Just me

The rain wont come
The thirst all consuming.
Like the Earth’s jaw,
Crushing pressure
Bears down
From memories
Of sweet waters.

Like a sot you cling to my memory.
No one cares to clean the grime
Building on the walls.
What a welcoming dream,
The home I offer.
The open-air travels
Through paper-thin walls
With the ease of a valley.
Drizzle, drizzle
Over me.
Ash and chalk
Mark the shape of my mouth.
A distant echo of a crack
And my arm goes numb.