the term is spiral
but it's more a
plummet, a drop
on a rollercoaster

a downward spiral
sounds like a waterslide
all smooth splashes
bubbles of laughter

but it's more like
the cutoff when your
heart jumps out of the
hole in your stomach
just hold your
hands up and scream

when some get sad
you spiral slowly
things pile up and
they slip and slide

when i get sad it's
freefall but i guess
i'm used to
bumps on rides

but it's all in the
way we fall

i want a silent
night tonight

the radio
creaking out
old songs
of cheer and

red
running
down my
arms and legs

a silent
night

all the static
noises and voices
that never
shut up

quieted
just
for
tonight

the world
asleep
while my skin
weeps

a silent
night

eerily quiet
night

fluffy snow
on the ground
blankets over
my head

over my
thoughts

peace on
earth
no fear
no hurt

silent
night

the radio
plays on
through the
twinkle lights
paper bags
golden bows

as loud as
every other
day of
the year

and i can't
just lie here

i need a
silent night

just one
night
without noise
without a fight

once in november
a late afternoon
sunbeam
managed to slip
its way into the
windowless kitchen

it hit me in the eye
and trickled down
my flannel shirt
i held it in my hand

remembered it
for days like this

days when i am
tired
and the coffee won't
come off the floor
or the stains out
of the sink
or the grounds from
under my nails

and i want to cry
but all i've got is
creamy egg wash
monotony
mixed with
chocolate chips

i keep that sunbeam
for days like this

cold and frozen
can't feel my fingers
wind blowing
down my neck

there's a tiny little
sunbeam in my
back pocket that
i'll never forget

i can fold over the blankets
into triangles or
diamonds
crystals on the windowpane
and the chill chasing its way inside
i can clear the counters and
string up the lights
i can twist on the lamp and
slide between the wall and some comfort
i can curl into my dresser drawers
between the sweaters and
the socks
i can draw the curtains and
drag up the blinds to let the clouds
through the mesh
but still i’m falling victim to
a lackluster melancholia
and i suppose it would be fine
if the silk of the morning
didn’t make a habit of
curling itself around my throat
before i even lift my eyes
to the sun.

my true form
is that which lurks
in the bottom
of my mug

a shiny
distorted face
similar to a
monster

sleeping under
coffee and milk
only caught in
bottom-half swigs

and shiny cold
confessions to
myself so near the
end it doesn't matter

the me at the bottom
looks the same as
it has since i was
just a kid

only difference is
now that i'm older
i know better than
to think it won't hurt me

there are two floors
in my house
an upstairs
and a downstairs

separated by a
gray and green
concrete stairwell
where the footsteps
echo and voices bounce
against the fluorescence

i like the stairwell
it's transient and
i spend a lot of
time just running
up and down it
down and up it

there are two floors
in my house

the upstairs doesn't have
a roof. it has a white
background and blue
skies. the carpet is the fluffy
enough to sink your toes into
the wood floors are
pale. there are parachutes
hot air balloons. birds.
paper planes. kites. all things
aerial swirling around my head

the downstairs has black
ceilings and a cold concrete
floor. it stains your feet black
and sends chills up your legs and
up your spine when the chains
and cages rattle. chains. cages
are mostly what's down there
and they rattle. they rattle a lot

the upstairs has a piano and
polariod pictures. soft blankets
sweaters and a coffee fountain
right in the middle. there are
puppies and yarn and the puppies
play in the yarn. but the yarn
never gets tangled or linty and
there's always a sunset or sunrise
a fresh start or a peaceful end
depending. hot tea twinkly lights
candles and old movies or shows
oh and a lake. my very own lake
and the colors! there is every
color imaginable upstairs

but the downstairs is very quiet
very dark. no windows or sun
and the only creatures playing
are the ones in the cages
knitting shadows into gray
monochrome striped ski masks

there are more things upstairs
things even more pleasant than i
even just described. like fish tanks
and umbrellas. bicycles and
brightly painted cows. but i often
forget the lovely tableaus up there

when the groaning and clanking
from the basement echoes up
the stairs and i creep down
to see what's happening

and the black
begins to seep
i get trapped
down there sometimes
down in the musty damp
with the ghosts and fear

and i wish i had
a yellow helium balloon
tied to my wrist
to pull me back upwards
back to my safe world
of fresh paint and denim

there are two floors
in my house
an upstairs
and a downstairs

where shall
i sleep tonight?