PRELUDE
It begins with the interrogation of the magpies
demanding to know what goes on inside my brain
they pick and play with my dreams
rolling and bouncing down the hallway
claws clicking on marble surfaces
plucking each item out of the laundry basket
hanging upside down from the clothesline
tasting fabric on tongues
searching under furniture
divining the flesh of tiny creatures
scattering bones, threads, dust
seeds, pebbles
translucent wings –
a trail for the broom
that comes with waking
RIDICULOUS (REPEAT REPEAT)
It creeps at night on muscular feet out my spine
down my legs
grasping toes in feral teeth
needle-talons wrap my ankle
a barbed tail whips my legs
it loves the bell of midnight
digs till it finds a nerve
plays it like a lute
till sparks burst
in my head
with its left hand
it holds flames
to the soles of my feet
– you shingle a roof to protect it
– you shingle a wild mane of hair to free it
I am riding the shingles train
ridden hard to an unknown destination
the weight of its breath
the sheer ridiculous
nerve
