march 25, 2022 9:48PM

nails tap and scrape against

my phone screen

this Moses parting the white sea

his credit card staff

rap against the L.E.D.

*rap* *rap* *rap*

in 4/4, no swing, lost all of her luster

just the powdery taste of lustral and mother

going on

about how

they never had the paint we have to paint with

and how

bad it all was back then

and how

good I've had it since sun down

and how

good it'll be till the next dawn

if I just chose to feel the warmth of that break

and not the cold at the back of my arms

I know ma

but these tiny lungs have been swept

from its feet

up to my throat

and every breath closes the gap

between the burn on the skin

and that fire it gave itself to

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