there are so
many irritants
stinging nits
constantly biting
drawing blood
that only incites
the furious swarm
ceaselessly
scrambling to
consume everything
in a horde of
anxious hells

i slept
near comatose
after hours of
clutching a pillow
and begging
the universe
for a solitary win
only for the alarm
to trigger a claxon
of insubstantial worry
if there was dream
i shredded it
and stuffed my ears
to silence the
tinnitus of dread

the emotional
pollution chart
is sitting at orange
as a hazy mistrust
brews over each
extended open hand
there is a game afoot
yet the clues are
scribbled in
shaky hieroglyphs
worn down by the
incessant winds
an erosion of heartspasms
in solitary disdain

i am a
venn diagram
where
love
hope
and sorrow
culminate
the punchline
to an
unspoken joke
a revisionist
vivisection
of beauty
exposing the
ugliness
that goes
beyond
skin deep.