my throat’s on fire
and i’m coughing up my confidence
i laid awake haunted by your voice
ringing in my sleep like a nightmare
with each sporadic pulse
is an erroneous thought
my convoluted conscious convulsing
now your body’s echoing
cooing back after my howling
taunting, daunting, remonstrating
exploiting, and self-serving
aloof to your own ambivalence