MAY THE FITTEST ONE
SURVIVE THE WINTER
MAY WE BLEED LIKE PLUMS
AT THE MOUTHS OF THE RICHER
MAY WE PAY WITH PAPER
FOR EXISTENCE
MAY WE REPLACE BLOOD WITH METAL
AND COMPLAIN ABOUT
HOW BITTER
THE RUST TASTES
AT THE END OF A TUESDAY NIGHT
WHERE YOU SIT AT THE EDGE
OF YOUR BED
SLOWLY
RIPPING THE MASK
OFF YOUR FACE
TO FIND THAT
YOU RIP PARTS OF
YOUR FLESH
ALONG WITH IT




WELCOME TO THE
REST OF YOUR LIFE
WE ACCEPT CASH
NOT CREDIT

Some days you make me feel
Like i gargle sandpaper,
In a failed attempt,
To scrape you
Off my teeth,


On other days,
I wonder if distance could have
The same effect as water,
Could the waves smother me
To sleep?
Could the ships ever imitate
The way you rocked yourself
Inside of me
On days where you still
Believed i was your
Restful ocean?


On good days,
I remind myself
That i have buried you twice,
And the third hangs around my neck;
Perhaps a poor reminder of
The rivers that once ran
Together with my veins;
I still feel a part of your hope
Sail together with
My heart every
Single night



On bad days
I am reminded of a reservoir,
Oddly in the shape
Of my palms,
Tides pull my hair
Back and forth
As if i could ever
Mimic the way your hands felt
Against my scalp,


As the waves tug
At my weary eye lids
On days where the reservoir
Runs empty;
I am reminded that
Water could have 
The same effect as
Water, and I've been
drowning in the empty
Pools inside
Your eyes
Since the day
I started counting
The good ones
And the bad