this wax-eyed hour
of weak,

i’ve no appetite
for sleep,

to speak’s a reach
through scratched up screen,

watching stances
quarrel..

tangled,

flexing hot
caffeine,

man child pounds
on bar-

to rouse
alarm,

spreading fire ’round
a schoolyard war.

self-portrait hovers
crooked,

who’s yet to
notice?

railing’s
missing teeth.

last silver hairs line
carpet stairs

at foot of firepit
naps dad’s vacant chair.

a mess that mops up
for nobody

scribbled on slate
scenery-

bleeding over
life,

painted as whose beauty
dulls the
knife.