how do I tell what we’ve long ignored
the bell in the heart
the knock at the door
how do I speak with tongue too raw
to severed ears like nails from claw?

like tooth from bite
like eyeball from sight
yeah atom from bomb
yet all buttoned up
with Enlightened Aplomb?

all Buttoned Up
so suave and swift
dashing your slash
with riposte in fist?

like butcher dressed
in Sunday best
drips unseen fat on
his stained undervest
you chomp at the shells
of my words,
spit the rest.