Place me next to God
On your wrought-iron bookshelf
In the corner
In the dark
I’ll be safe there
Dear
My how the grass has grown
Over both our heads
Lost in my own backyard
And grazing like cattle
I hadn’t eaten since Easter
Not bathed since I became afraid of water
Even rain
And the liquid I’m pouring down my throat
In handfuls, bucketfuls
I heard a voice last night
From the sky
Fell into my head like snow
Freezing all my dreams
All my hopes of closing my eyes
In the comfort of someone’s warm embrace
At the drugstore I bought a sedative
At the second-hand store I bought a surrogate lover
A poster of one of my heroes reclining on the hood
Of a blue Chevy pickup truck
I took him home, pinned him to the wall
Blew him kisses
Blew the candle flame across the curtains
Warmed my hands over the fire
Watched my heart go up in flames