An incurable itch for scribbling
takes possession of many and grows
inveterate in their insane hearts. -- Juvenal

AND HERE GENTLEMAN
behold, I stand at the door
WE ENTER THE EAST WING
and mock
SHE CAN'T HURT YOU
look, etched in my palm
a map to an ancient tomb
AGE, NAME UNKNOWN
I know
the feel of a solid grip
on a cold glass spade
FOUND NUDE, COVERED WITH BLOOD
I am committed to the dig
SEARCHED FOR THE HAND
through cold white formica
TOO LATE
deciphering messages
from pharaoh's phenobarbarians
scratched in this door.

TAKING NOTES
in a previous life
PLACE OF ORIGIN, UNKNOWN
I remember
OBSERVE THE CATALEPSY
mother hid in the slaughterhouse
THE CONGENITAL DEFORMITY
scroll propped on her cold belly
CLASSIC SYMPTOMS OF
in the darkness
BOTCHED CEASAREAN
she panted prayers
and Shakespearean sonnets
IRREVERSIBLE INSANITY
deep inside
I sometimes hear a noble Juliet
leaning into the dagger
AND SO WE HAVE
whispering
A RELIGIO-PATHOLOGIO-PHOBIO
"romeo, romeo."

behold my broken blood
AT AGE THREE
a child of Eve
ABSENT FATHER RETURNED
"mother may I take
one baby step forward"
SHOT HIMSELF IN THE VISITOR CUBICLE
now I can disappear
standing very still
a mirror
WE DO WHAT WE CAN
however here, I am outnumbered
LET'S MOVE ON, GENTLEMEN
take this with you, a souvenir
THERE WILL BE A QUIZ
shard of my body
phlegm of my blood
PLEASE STEP OVER IMAGINARY MOAT
you must all be
TO APPEASE HER
so hungry.