an explanation

likened to an act
so impersonally offending
ah, there's a flash of teeth.
acquiescence, she follows -
fibers weaving
disjointed, tangled -
though a thimble
might have been
appropriate

rabid

there's a wounded animal
on every grime-smeared corner,
gnawing incessantly at a
maggot ridden wound,
rotting teeth gnashing
against nearly exposed bone -
and through the red froth,
a smile is always
half cocked:
at some point
it becomes pleasure.

surface

i am standing there across
from you, twisting my hair
into a braided rope

like the lines they send
down to people drowning in
a sea storm's tumbling waves
because they were stupid enough
to defy their constricting pupils

or like cables, taught,
that bring up the skiers
with blue skin, numbed
from being buried in the avalanche
they heard rumbling in their bones

and when i leave to
wash my hands
-- thumb ring-less; i lost it
in another --

i avoid your gaze in the yellow light.
i know already:
the haggard look, slightly
blackened rings that
age and mar
despite nature's deception

i know already:
a glance would make me quake.
so i dip my head
and continue through the swinging doors