the poison comes in waves.
someday i'm going to be pretty
i won't be afraid of my shadow
with its black silken bulk,
or hide behind the shirt tails
of thin penguin suits;
you will be worn
as my mask,
clinging fast
to my face; you will
hide me
from the heads that turn
at the curious
mystery of what is hidden,
burning for its who
and why.
the wanting comes in waves.
someday i will be beautiful
inside-out with my
glittery little organs
basking in empty swallows;
watching the birds on your fingers
fitting rough twigs
bleached white
under proud displays of
skin, because
it is so easy
to lie and cover your lips
with a flutter of fingers,
spitting end over end;
oh yes, i am full, bursting to the brim
my stomach does not know
of those leonine roars any longer;
you'll read me, open pages
glassy-eyes, star struck,
oh wondrous creature,
know my limbs.
i will hold you as you cry,
call you my paper tiger
for the aggressive way you boast
your chest but slip into
unsettled sorrow;
someday you will leave me
and forget the moon like your own child—
the loving leaves in waves.
