Zero Sum

It’s a zero sum game

it’s like playing with knives

or Russian roulette

it’s like licking a nine volt

just for the shock value

it’s like acupuncture with

sixteen gauge needles

it’s the edge of the guillotine

flashing in the French sun

it’s straight razor gleam

              in the hands of a dapper madman

chases you, haunts your castle

it’s the monster you could never define

it’s all the scars

it’s all the blood

it’s all the flesh and meat

and muscle

all the wounds still open

and weeping

it’s a zero sum game, poetry,

flay yourself as a vivisectionist

and the best you can hope for

is a null result.