Venipuncture

tw: needles

"Now is the time to look away."

Turning my head to the right

introduces me to my neighbor

and I wordlessly acknowledge her

the similarities in the way

we've piled our hair on our head

and the clothes we both wear

I wonder if she also left the bed

to leave the house, and if like me

she'll crawl back into it

when this is all over

Turning my head to the left

introduces me to the needle in my arm

that's usually hidden with gauze

by the time I return to center

so I don't normally memorize

the angle that it sits in my vein

or the gauge of its hollow body

one tube inside of another, 

this strange, warm river inside of me

with life and death on either bank

it’s tender out there when the veil is thin
a distracted click on the other end of the line
could be enough to undo you 
when you're asking for us to shine that 
attention-love flashlight straight at you
but we’re all out of practice

the beauty was in the trying

we stretched tentacles long-self wrapped

out to you  

clumsy but reaching to show up for

your beautiful call to be loved

Elevator on the road (Jan. 10)

 3.

sleepy i'm so sleepy i

need to sleep but look these

electrons, they're legendary

they harm us so much

is it what it is in dream,

a familiar bridge made unfamiliar

a reason to run away

a trajectory toward a promise

2.

sleep is very sleepy for me 

want to sleep but look at this 

electrons, and myths 

they hurt us deeply 

and that which is in the dream, 

a well-known unusual bridge 

for escape 

the way to the promise 

1.

I fell asleep in a dream 

I want asleep, but look 

Electronics and Myths 

They make us very angry. 

What is a dream? 

Everyone knows unusual bones. 

Escape 

Elevator on the road