carnivorous portraiture
symbol of power
like waves crashing over the breakwater
or the moment in which dinner-table and silverware are upended
a very nice rug to cover a very deep hole

inside that hole;
look inside the darkest recesses
inside the vault of stolid self-irreverence
underground railroad adorned with tableaus for selves no longer embodied
hang yourself
be your own ideal hang man
be your own ideal hang man's own ideal hang man
be your own ideal hang man's own ideal hang man's own ideal hang man

parasuicidal ego-death impotentiate
look into that hole
do not step on the rug