Limbs
Words tangled up
Like I’m speaking yours back to you
Through a sieve
Only half of them reach you

Perhaps it got lost halfway down your throat,
my words too

Did I walk into a diner,
spread myself across the counter like the black forest cake in the display case?
Condensation pooling on the inside of the glass
It’s too hot in here

Too much too soon?
Was it
Something
Toothachingly sweet after an indulgent meal
Leaving you feeling sluggish and apathetic

I must know,
But first, to steel my stomach and white-knuckle the last dregs of this feeling

The cat’s got my tongue and given it to the raven
Now, how to get him to free it…