The Crack of Light
It’s come down to this
There is no escape
The Ben-Gay Man has me
Enthralled
I’ve been caught
out in the open
I’ve left the safety of my bed
The chase is on
thanks to the leaving
of the fireplace screen
open
just a crack
Oh the pain
or was it
the curtain
to the sliding door
left ajar
not fully closed
so he can’t get in
Oh
the terror I feel
as he chases me around
the hardwood
living room floor
What happened to the carpet
What is that light I see
coming from under
the kitchen door
Is there help beyond?
What is that
noise
those raised voices
the seriousness of it all
followed by exaggerated
laughter
the clinking of
cocktail glasses
the puncturing
of a can of beer
with the cheapest tool
one can find
in their – drawer
that I am forbidden
to go in
too many sharp things
that will do me harm!
The refrigerator opens
a big knife
is brought out
to carve off slabs
of raw roast beef
just the way
that big man likes it
Oh how he bellows
about the burnt bodies
he smelled at Iwo Jima
Ouch!
Stop it!
That hurts!
You’re full of shit
Victor
and you know it
Mother!
Are you in there?
Can you help me
please
The Ben-Gay Man
has me
Entralled
I don’t know
if I can find
my way back to bed.
“And this is why I sojourn here, Alone and palely loitering, Though the sedge is withered from the lake, And no birds sing.”
