odorless bathing salts
undissolved
in calm
water
with ashy skin

two cheeks
filled
with silver milk
swollen
with odorless
feeble
attempts
to at least
be
forgettable
nausea ,

counting
the beads on a chain
attached to a rubber plug
wearing concrete shoes
face-down
in placid
murk
Passes the Time,

even at a fraction of the speed limit
  
ulcerous enamel
leeching rust
into a pointless bog
of manganese
and zinc

candle
burning
bees wax
on the
sink

where
she left her
brush

she left hair
instructions
on how to recover
from losing your
head

a box
of wooden matches
can't seem to
get  on
with a crumpled ***
of spent tissue...

a waste basket
that needs therapy
with yellow lungs,
eating a can
of pork & beans
thinking wrinkled hands
are like
house cats

lounging
over the lip
of a submarine
with clawed feet
brass proud

clashing
with empty
beers cans on the floor
sleeping off
the misadventures
of a reckless
binge.

my wallet
splayed prone, under
a slow leak.
admiring the linoleum

seen
better days
in a magazine

a
picture
of a well appointed
villa

it was furnished
with opulent
symbols

they were
empty

on page twelve.

i thought
they
had

a
point
.
i knew
i would cancel
my subscription
even if it
thrilled
me.