a twitch in the jaw
something comes undone,
and the hands letting you go
hope you're never coming back.
they will say it was just bright colors flashing
over the dark insides
of a body full of disease.
[and now the summer swarms
fill the air with droning calls
that lead them all to the rot]
so what came first; the ghost or the grave?
written on your skin,
curses that follow your name.
so what came first; the guilt or the shame?
suffocate yourself and turn your eyes away
without ever looking back.
a twitch in the jaw
something comes undone.
the hands that let you go
hold you by the throat,
drag you back to the light
and up into the day.
leave you bloodless.
leave you hopeless.
in that homesick empty space
where there is nothing
to help you forget the pain.