Green giant hand raised
Towards the heavens.
Claws of seaweed,
Pine,
Olive,

Soon to fade into autumn
Auburn,
Burgundy,
Vermillion,
Amber,

Then shed its template
Flake by flake until
Naked; pure
Black against
Snow.

Headstone upon
Life itself.
Root grave. Branch bones.
Skeleton of an
Angel.

Walk the edge
A tightrope.
Steady.
Building to building
Moment to moment
Pen to paper

Commit me to forgetting
Forcing is the the same as letting
Last time I checked
You were some gold flecked
Feather
And together
We staggered down the tightrope

This all was a way to hope
Melted candle now.
Steady.

Hope to be the dancer
Bag of meat
Actuality
Reality
What's the difference?

Keep up this charade
Tell your secrets
Say you're naked
When you're nothing
Without whatever
Belongs below the waist
The waste
The taste of nothing
Is so loud.

Blood and blade.
Rise above.
Could you quit,
If it felt like love?
Forever will I sit-
empty glass,
Fingers old.

Bold passions never sit
Could you quit,
If it felt like love?

Father mosquito
drank my blood
and promised me
that there was a lot
to live for:
***, money,
women, love,
food, water.

But *** is only worth
the ten seconds
after I ***:
the ten seconds
where my body breaks
but not my heart.

And money is an idea
that belongs to someone else.
So, the money I have
never really is mine.
The things I need,
I'll never have.
The things I have,
I'll never need.

I do love the softness of women,
Father Mosquito.
You have understood me
once.

It's just underneath
my skin.

But you say love
and no love
is as important
as self-love.
No lips stitched into mine
is worth the feeling
unless I understand my worth,
and you're currently
*******
it
dry.

What happens when food
loses its taste?
And water is no longer cold?
What happens when
my body fails me?
Drink my blood
since it is yours, too,
father.

It's just underneath
my skin.

Black mud
Slip
Fall.

It was the scars
That gave it away

Call out into the storm
Hear the wind scream
Over and over ask
Is this real or is this a dream
Throw metal around
(It's comforting for a second)
Turn up the sound

So you can't hear
Death coming