choking on the ritual
white pill
I consume
the kiss
of a smile.

it stretches on for miles
without bending
before it splits
and ends
again.

without the means
to focus
on these gaping black holes,
swallowing me whole
as I fade into a blank

memory
of a father departing,
a mother praying
for strength
to a god

who sat,
earless and maimed
within the television.
as my purple heart
bled for a song

never sung.

.........



...I am consumed
by moments, words,
by an enduring, soul-shattering
solemnity
I have yet to explain.

O mouth,
oval
and poor--
you cannot know
though you can speak of
what this means.

And these eyes
see nothing but a reflection
of life
in all of its circuitry.


from my poem entitled "Amaranthine"