the air conditioner
sighs morosely as
the condenser fights
the early heatwave
i have tossed and turned
so many times that
the sheets are a hopeless
tangle around my naked
torso and i feel
partially mummified
as the woman in another
rooms sings along with
the loud radio and
a vacuum cleaner runs
over a row of pennies
causing a cacophony
rattling loudly in my head
jam the hanger up into
my brain and pull the
sleeplessness from me
stuff my aching chest full
of dried leaves and herbs
apply sacred oils to my
fevered stiff flesh
annoint me unto the nile
where i shall float far
from the gaze of ra
to decay in a field of reeds
drenched in twilight rays
it seems i am the only
ghost haunting this
far from best western
ready to hit the road
and shed the detritus
of another trip farther
amd farther from home