you.
you are
the ink and the smoke,
the blood and the sand.

that i was in
an elevator,
the cable broke,
and i began falling.

then i woke.

and i was sad
because i had thought
the cable broke
long ago.

if, being a seemingly
reasonable person,
you thought that one
would get used
to this feeling of your
guts being torn out
your heart d r o p p i n g
down into your stomach
your breath escaping
in a strangled cry -

if, indeed, you thought that -
well then you, sir,
would be completely wrong.

it’s hard to admit
there is no center
where you thought one was.

you were sure it was there.
you felt it.
and so went looking for
the place it should be.

and there you found nothing.

instead of finding
the anticipated end
you found a
winding,
forking,
complicated path.

what you imagined a heart
is really an artery.

and upon inspection
only find another layer to
peel back,
rip off,
or burn altogether.

-

the hypocrisy
on display
is almost beyond
the grasp
of a rational mind.

it is
shiny and gold.
(and in an italic font)
it is g l e a m i n g,
moist.
sweet.

it is utterly ridiculous.
shameful.

emails?
who cares about emails?!

just sit with that for a moment...

-