wet velvet

The night is as black as a mouth opened wide
in a silent scream
The air around us is heavy and thick
like wet velvet

Standing under the canopy of a starless night
I feel the bites of life's regrets
like so many hungry insects
that have found a newly dead thing

Here out on the warm asphalt
waiting for another pair of headlights
I go over the memories in my head
that slosh around like a ship during a storm

They get caught on each other...tangled
I shake my head with my eyes closed I will
rip these thoughts of remorse loose- my head
moving violently like a wild animal tearing at flesh

A hot breeze blows in from the south
bringing hot, searing desert onto my skin
My tattered clothing ebbs & flows
like tiny fabric made ghosts

My hands are slick like
eyeballs after torrential tears
There are bits of you in my fingernails
your splatter in twisted patterns on my blouse

The smell of protein breaking down is sickening
but still intoxicating...a mixed drink made up of
bad sex and murder in the heart of the desert
I can smell your body breaking down and it makes me smile

With my eyes closed I imagine your bones scattered
like children's abandoned toys in a sand box
animals of this sandy cemetary playing dominoes
with your body parts...My lips part in a wicked grin

The headlights bendindg on the road's curve
stop this scene in my head and I am brought
back to the present like a fish reeled in
That old familiar hook-survival- is in me again

That animal insinct to survive is strong in me
its my life's auto-pilot I have no control of my
actions. I see myself getting into this new car
I feel the cool, conditioned air hit the red, wet parts of my skin

The driver looks at me like I am nothing more than meat
for him to cut into and fill up with his thick garnish
The prey believing he is the predator
I smile like an innocent...nodding at all the right times

The promise of bad sex and murder fogging
up the windows. His breath quickens in time
with his rushed heartbeat. I lean back and let the
air cover me...its heavy and thick like
wet velvet.