the man who choked me, then tore the cowries from my neck
his chest grows with inhalations
of cortisol and adrenaline
inflating the empty space.
he is finished. I tell him to get out.
I am not falling asleep here- and he
does not lay by my side.
Does he plagiarize poems ex-girlfriends wrote?
and give those to new girlfriends-
make believe a sensitive side.
your footsteps to my bedroom, I am swallowing down
throatfuls of dread. I tie tight knots of delusion.
So you can be the gun I point at my head.
My prayers at night chant whispered. repetition.
Please go away please go away please go away
Waking to you in my bed at dawn
Slow slaughter.
NorthSouth Press 