"Skinny"

It was when I realized how little I had to lose
that I stopped wincing.

Somewhere around the seventh grade
I sat and sat in the yellow grass,

looking down an earthy bank where we would
sleigh in the summertime on blue roll-up sleds.

The black ants moved there, but not for long--
they'd soon tunnel away with their sugars.

And what if a dark cave swallowed me?
I think it's true. I could possibly be fading.



A lonely pop star died in her prime;
we all watched her like something ticking.

Her skinny frame now supine in the dark,
like she was ten again, dreaming of bears.

Water must move. Flesh pulls tight like a drum.
Her tattoos will fall in tiny flakes onto coffin silk.

There I sat at the loam cascading, wondering why
you clip off parts of you and throw them away.

My hands were too cold to touch myself.
Is it funny? what I need? Is it funny?



Do you think I could come over?
What's on TV? Let's pretend it's us.

Reviews

[emmajoy]

Love it when someone lets thoughts form glittering chains, sometimes influenced by the graphic, other time by the cerebral .. a mix and not so much a match but a light into another direction. Your mind has a wonderful quirkiness but its usable, flexible.. ah yes, that's the word. Thanks for sharing snippets into your 'mind waves'

[Brittany Zedalis]

To say you're a good writer would be a bit of an understatement. This is really amazing. It almost feels like two stories at once, the inside and out.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i like the amy winehouse reference here...pop stars do that...and then life becomes something surreal and unreal...we realize mortality...and it makes us too cold to touch ourselves...

i like the last two lines...these days it is easy to pretend...the stars seem so real since we spend so much times involved in their lives through media.

another good one Steven...

[Red Brick Keshner]

It's all about the moment, and as reflected in your poem, to be captured entire and delved into with a fish-eye lens of sorts with a 360 degree panning. Thanks for sharing. Btw, is this speaking of Amy?

[Steven]

Thanks buddy. It is, in parts.

[Tree]

Man, I really dug this. You're telling a story inside of yourself but you bridge it with the world outside. The other thing is that couplet structure framed the tone that you're conveying perfectly, a lot of writers don't use it down here, I don't know why. I thought you just killed it in the end, too. Closed the deal.

[Corset]

Is it funny? what I need, is it funny? Holy s**t this is brilliant...all I can say, the only words that wince out lol, perfect...absolutely my fav of yours :)

[That_Girl]

Everything in moderation, right? Too much too fast can be detrimental... nice write.

[MOON]

This is a mixed bags of memories and a bit of social commentary and fame and it's pitfalls, lovely musings insightful.. Lovely write.

[Muse]

Guilty of over-indulging. Eating away at ourselves again...until we whittle away to nothingness.