light breaks

through darkness
briefly, just
a crack, then
a moment

an open flood
of light
in a room
black filled with light
a shadow
a body
in the light

a bed
then no light
a door shut
a latch clicked
no more light, too
quiet night is
shut
sudden, night is darker
covers me, before
it gets me
someone’s in it

eyes, wide,
mine? stark white, invisible
blood, filled, I
can’t see, darkness
I know
heartbeats
mine, his, its
eyes red
in them, it,

this heavy body
breath
invisible eyes
covered with eyes
fat eyes
covered with sweet smell
and grit, hungry,
mean, a large man, it,
a breath
a heavy man, a hot
thing, intrusive
it’s been
here before, it’s
known
an unknown thing
but known

it’s heavy
so old and heavy
it’s freezing my tongue
it’s weight eternal
is so silent, it’s gravity
so heavy
so fearful
it’s stigma
is fear
a paralysis, death
another death
again

me, it, I,
disassembled
me
blotted out
a rag doll
child, disembodied
dead
another dead, again
child, a rag doll

I dance, now
I remain lying, I dance
still, empty,
mournful, its
hand grabs
me, it pulls
hair, a mittful
of hair, laughing,
under its breath, a chuckle
a pant, a growl, a threat

there’s no cry
from these
lips
these small lips
my lips, tight,
just dead weight
just oblivion
just garlic on its breath
in my face

softly
and pulled
my hair
not softly
pain
shhhhhhh
mean
the hand always
is over this mouth, this mouth
never moves, never
whispers
shhhhhhh
mean
pain, inured,
silent, is deathly
silent

pain
this pain
o this pain
is

this black
moment, is this night,
does it fill left
when I’m gone
intangible, something
does it fill step
aside or I step
aside, me fill
unmoving, dead
undead
this pain, fill

deep, so dark
quiet
so quiet and deathly
so
never-ending
too dead
years are dead
bed
shaking bed
black

tongue is dead
is wet, dry
tears are worse than dead
unshed
then it fills
me and it’s just
pain, it’s just pain
it’s only pain
it’s pain

night, no me
darker night, no me
unending night, nothing

08/15/2005

Author's Note: not me, not you i hope.

Posted on 08/15/2005
Copyright © 2026 Jim Benz