It catches in my throat
I try to scald it down
with a nonfat latte- no foam, please
but a resilient hairball like this
is latched on tightly-
a gila monster attached to the
sweetest ****.

My sentences are choked and can't-
the stares beat my face, I lower
my eyes only to feel the eyewounds
lash my back and a striped cardigan
offers no protection.

I curl up and twitch just like
that dog I once (or twice) kicked
dark in a closet or under a bed
and wait for salvation but no one ever
comes and eventually
I have to deal before the SWAT
team catches me with tear gas
and I cough up lizard after lizard.