gather your tinder
the journals, the unopened bills;
the poems that slithered themselves
into your solitude;
the newspapers filled with
birthcrimedeathhatetrivia.
pile them high, then
stuff them in the cracks,
block out the sun.
seal out the world.
build it,
the funeral barge, the paper crypt,
your pyre.
the heft of your zippo, feel it
warm from your dark pocket,
its weight a solemn secret. succumb to
the seduction of matches,
sardined inside slick covers.
where to begin? a wastebasket?
the unmade bed? your littered desk
clears its throat.
your lighter rides in your hand;
its weight familiar as your dick.
your thumb aches for the wheel, the spark,
the primeval satisfaction of control. the ancient
ballet dances itself. twitch
satisfy. white hot jetstream
splatters your affairs.
the flame beckons.
you follow.
Paula deArmas Looper
Easley SC
1997 © graffito