Sphere of the Present
Long ago he sought
only fulfillment
of his wrath and
lust. Entitled. The
dog from El Norte shed
the insignificant. A
Mexican girl
died. The meager
love she thought
true, endless
for her and
their baby, only
careening toward
the end unaware.
Her voice pierces
time seeking
justice. It reaches
into the present
“Ayudame!” I hear. I
knock on doors.
“Listen! Stop the
White dog!” Barred.
Locked forever in
an insistence to let
sleeping dogs lie
especially dogs
from El Norte.
Hidden horrors decades
old no longer
matter. Only now.
The Sphere of the Present.
All of us tangled
together. A Rat King.
Locked in a futile
struggle to survive. All
there ever was
or would be until
the end. Her
voice fades. Never
ends. ayudame
ayudame ayudame
ayudame ayudame
ayudame …..
Blonde Boy
Meet the smiling blonde boy. Never makes a fuss. [Probably.] “Hi, hun. Love ya.” A subdural, cerebellar arachnoid cyst above the right ear. Developed during gestation. Useless bits of convoluted gray matter lie about. Shaken baby. [Don’t know for sure.] A funnel-shaped cell all the way down. Down to the reptilian brain. His accomplice, Hunger, incarcerated there. Let out at night…..to feed. “Yippee!” Grinning. Mayhem. Gnawing bloody bones. Dawn. Heads for home. Door slams shut. Moans, snarls, guttural growls. Awaits dusk. Smiling blonde boy. “Good morning, hun. Love ya.” [Maybe.]
Wounds
The wounds of our
protagonist are deeper,
more profound than
I had thought. Inflicted
in infancy. An unloved
newborn denied
even a crumb
of care and
tenderness.
He was starving. Desperate.
His faux persona might be
loved. It is all
he has. Without it
he might die adrift
in outer darkness.
Alone. No one
cares.
He has no real
self to return to if
this one fails as
it certainly will.
The artificial
can never be
sustained.
He is a parent now. The
cracks are beginning
to appear. I had predicted
he would fall like an
imploding building
destroying only
himself. But that is not
the case.
In existential crisis. He
doubles down.
Screaming. Insisting the
fake is real. He is
becoming cruel.
He is terrifying
innocent children who
need the love
he denies
them.
And when confronted,
commanded to stop
the tirade,
told he is a
monster, he lies down
to nap curled up
like a small
child.