April 3.

Where the red light’s always on

I’m growing a horn on the left side of my head
skin cells dance shed multiply and throb
girls in the dark sing into hairbrushes
yesterday I forgot everything stupid
crunched the corners of my mouth afraid
to show my true face my brain slid off its polar

ha ha! words turned into letters into insects
on the page an amateur monster
I couldn’t even find the key

but Courtney could

look! she said
I’m still here! she said

Aurora beat her heart into us
exploded poppies in the seesaw street
girls I loved sang into their hairbrushes
little fears the liquid Cs of repent

 Courtney said drink up!

lapped the rough edges down strummed deep
into the scaled and feathered night Woodland
Park beat the horn growing on my head
the turtles pale flamingos great apes
howled into that unsafe house

the girls sang rescue me
swing swing swing your blond legs
over the divider stop the car
strum deep into the scaly night