Peggy

There.
Tubes atomize childhood
Downfall of a dream

Patting the back of my hand
Rhythmic, frantic.
Chipped pink nail polish
Keeps a grotesque kind of secret,
Litany of a life.

Her mouth hung loose
In a half-dug grave
Pulled open, ruined
Waiting to finish off the rest.
I stand on the edge of it
Waiting
For our hearts to fall in
Dismantled.

I’ve thought to face it
This eventual cross,
Back-binding and cold
Grips inside me hard.
Splinters rush my skin
I’d do anything to remake you
Give half my heart to magic
That knows how to conjure the dead

Vomit collapses Neverland
My eyes for a flash of yours
Give my tongue to taste
The salt of you.
Fish pump through me
Scales of your rings

Morning, glory.

All I can see is you
And
I want you to go away.
I never could take
The way you were, when you were sad.
Now your sadness seeps days
Attempts to erase heaven
You can't say it, but I know.
I disappeared in the tear that slid from your eye.
-2009

Time finds guts.