Limbs Meet Static Flesh
by Chad Beattie
candy's spine
yesterday went out lookin
for an island; candy claims she
saw me peddlin by; yelled my name
but no response - mind clangs like a
chaotic symphony. so damn loud.
swallow a couple xanax,
soothe me down. don't ever wanna
rise back up again. candy rubs my
meatless thigh, says it feels like
chicken wire – runs her smooth
fingers thru my hair. i'd smile
if i knew how to smile; instead i watch
her eyes glow like a widow
through a looking glass
bones for teeth
motorcars rumbling,
city smog taste; clumsy
high-heeled bimbos,
drunk horny men swatting bees away -
new skin for the old priest;
formless dialect, soft in nature,
castration fetishes
porridge for the rich
less porridge for the poor;
distressed housewives
cemeteries dressed in drag;
i've found the common space
between owls & their hoots
dark discovery
yung luv pierces thru
cracked window panes
like a bullet, creating
flesh wounds that never heal;
doc says he can fix it and for a second
he's almost got me fooled; hands me
a bottle of white tabs, think about takin em
all at once, skip the fireworks,
let's shut down these organs once and
for all. . . no, can't let that six-figure fool
murder me, got too many toilets to scrub
and such little time to spend
adjusting the thermometer for
the emerging season -
scurry to the liquor store like a dust mouse,
grabba bottle of brandy - keep the change - half a bottle
by the time I get home;
fax doc on the landline, tell him
i'm feeling fine; know what he says?
“see you in court.”
fruit bats
termites under skin,
feeling blue enough to smother the sky
like a big grey cloud;
so I venture south
where no one speaks my language.
invent a past i'll later forget.
only ghosts & shadows
can follow me here,
thru this dark empty space;
throw a dime down a wishing well
and wish for the best
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