the ancient egyptians
would
lovingly remove
the internal organs
fill the cavity
of the corpse
with dried flowers
a hooked tool
entered
the nose
to extract the brain
then
with attention to detail
they would wrap
the body
in preparation
for the afterlife
in the duat

a year ago
i hit
the lowest point
of my life
in celebration
of this anniversary
i circle the drain
like
a deformed rubber duck
in the eye
of eternity

it feels as if
instead of using
dried flowers
my chest cavity
was packed
with fiberglass insulation
my brain
just stabbed
ineffectively
left to rot
in the cavernous skull
of ignominy

if this
is hell
it is about
how i
imagined
if not
the tortures that await
must border
on the profound
if this
is limbo
the constant din
of elevator music
is apropos

no matter
how hard
i scratch
the itch remains
vibrant
in intensity
no matter
how many
pills i dry swallow
the pounding
in my skull
plays on in a sped up version of the one two three four
ska signature mournfully
blown through
a bone trumpet