czvasser Fried Chicken, Handstands

Netherworld

I heaped my oldself
into a shallow grave
in the center
a cobblestone
under it the cross
you had given me
light years ago
on a thursday
after a full moon

the alignment of the stars didn’t change
so i built a bonfire
and tossed in my nightmares
screaming
they rose away as smoke
on a moonless night
this went on till dawn
when rosey fingers strangled
the last creature of conscience

then there was the row boat
in the middle of the lake
shrouded
I pulled the scuttle plug
as a rising tide raises all boats
a sinking ship drowns all rats
with their last ounce of courge
they held the night still
before slipping into less life

if life is a kite
why won’t mine find
the eddies
siroccos
zephyrs
as a condor might
my soar is sore
wax melted
a single feather
once part of a wing
now an ornament in a headdress.

czvasser Afroticity, Fried Chicken, Handstands

A Last Toss

And if I asked you
yet again
would you hold me
would you still refuse
knowing what you know now
would you still care not

would you tell me
your mother
you man
your woman
your principles
your god
your gut
whatever was in the way
this was a moral dilemma
this was a rock
and I was a hard place

would you snuff
the urgency within me
pinch it out
spit on it
shred it
consider it
emotional stew
goulash
gumbo
mumbo jumbo
hobo magic
baggage
and not your problem

I have strength
for a last toss
if the rope doesn’t
reach and catch
the water will drown
the flames will engulf
the wind will hurl me down
the sand will bury me
my soul will fly away.

czvasser Fried Chicken

Too Brutal

So the one incredible
thing
I had done
in life
was finding
falling
in love
with her.

I sit now
cutting her picture
into pieces
tearing it
would be too
brutal.