would say, as of late, i’m a bat

wings doming fur
and face,

cozy,
contained,

tender
as distant,

at rest.. one of many
pitted knots

on wood panel wall
in musty hut,

murmurs of
fears

of fangs and
disease

presumed in we that
light won’t
reach.

these bloodless
fingers

tap cinders from
unlit cigar,

smog billows
within,

the
char of
black tea breath

on skim milk
skin,

bathwater swirls,
i clutch at
pearls

like
stars liquify
once peeled from eyes..

do sting
in warning winds.