narcolepsy

Art by Mary Elizabeth Vance (2014 archive)

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Narcolepsy

~a condition characterized by attacks of sleep, often caused by strong laughter or stress~

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mail at the porch,

someone i know,

like men on billboards,

invites me to the sunshine

state in sloping font:

oranges—a hungry child’s

fingers unwashed,

rubbing prints into

fabric of my best jeans,

sticky, hungry,

nothing changes:

i want to, i want

~

feathers poke through

pillows; pluck them out,

rest on the carcass:

my father in the yard,

and I’m twelve,

his knife in the beast

plunge, pluck, pass

the rest to me, spilling 

through my fingers

get it out, get it

~

table spans the horizon

forks enough to make

a symphony of single

notes, chime, chime,

chiding at me, fighting

to keep the spoon on my nose

spit-stuck, swinging,

waiting for the shoe to drop

knocking on the table

surrender my hand,

a joker; a misdeal,

a card on the mat

and i have mail

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