Oh
the death of things
and their strange rebirths

watch the shadow-dead movie images
of this or that actor when they are already degraded
and eaten or burned away

he cut himself there
he cut himself
there

on the cutting room floor
he bled away

bloody gurgling
his hands wrenched unconsciously

abyss plunge
unconscious
abyss plunge

his language is dead
the air and blood
throat-mingle

is he smiling there?
is happiness an option
when you are a pile
of muscle, fat and bone?

like that Chinese woman
she's centuries dead but her
mummy-limbs are soft and flexible
go ahead, touch her
touch her

I guess it must have been the mercury
that almost preserved her eyes

08/30/2000

Author's Note: Please check out my new book! ;)>

Posted on 08/30/2004
Copyright © 2026 Tom Goss