the covid
fits directly
into my
rejection
receptors
as i shiver
glaring at
shadows where
i see wisps
of hidden
agendas in
the inactions
where refraction
doesn’t occur

watching as
i spiral
searching for
the reasons
i sink
downdowndown
swallowed by
the chasm
burrowed by
the maggots
feasting on
the fetid
remains of
yesterday’s
empty promise

i embody the
sinuous absence
calling softly
in the void
a rough approximation
of driftwood sorrow
in the wooden eyes
of a dime store
philosophy dropout
suffering through
betrayals of hope
in a nihilistic
absolution of self

the city is quiet
as i suck on the tit
of silent reproach
choking on the rancidity
of congealed agonies
dying by inches in
bittersweet denials
blowing kisses like
carcinogens to smother
love’s listless laments
plucking petals off
the dying flowers
tongue tied in a
blizzard of razored
she loved me knots