i am trapped in a neon arcade
where machines bump hum and hiss
i am a red-cheeked blond boy
with blue tiled streetlamps
i've been slapped by my aunt
and the burn of my flesh stinks and rises
to meet the acid gas hovering over the city
adrenalin runs into my armpits from my crying eyes
and i will be lost immobile and dumb unless
the longhaired angels descend from their albatross
and sing to me of kindness
i will rust under thriving tree roots and
be the forgotten target of armies
i will burn on the emerald horizon
floating silent over bright blue cloud-brains