Pale / Cold

1.

Walk into the drug store

in an attempt to thaw out the nakedness

of your thigh

cold meat covering cold bones covering nothing

torn nylon

holes where the feet used to be

2.

The fluorescent lights bzzzzz overtop of you

in and around you

You make a beeline to the potato chips

then back

bzzzzzzzzz

frozen dinner

trail mix

40 oz of beer

You bzzzzzzz left and then

straight to the pharmaceuticals

3.

You look at the pink flesh and think how

you’ve never seen skin look so unhappy before

4.

There was a bungalow and a bird's nest

maybe a woodshed

where the bikes used to be

& you’ve always been so good at holding your breath

5.

The Duane Reade line is curved

stretching through to the back

of the aisle

you’re sweating beneath your hood

sweatshirt thick as straw

6.

You don’t remember it as well as you might

and your fingers

those bones and membranes

pale-white gripping the plastic Tylenol bottle

8.

The bzzzzz gets louder

The bzzzzz doesn’t stop until it’s filling every pore

and space of breathing skin

flesh moving on it’s own

a porcelain doll

filled with bees

7.

There’s a hole where your rib cage should be