twelve nine twenty five

bits and pieces, no dips and sauces

i do not drape nor skin anything i birth these days,

nor do i wait for north stars or high priestesses

or common men to come from far away to eat it.

but when they come

i will have their fickle bones and shallow souls tethered

and i will skin them to feed my young ones and old ones alike

i saw a man in love, i saw a women adored by many,

she amused them all, she had use of the adulation she received.

then i looked at all of them again and i just saw people who forgot they will die,

forgetting to notice a Marlboro ad that said ‘we will die anyway’

right above their head as they sat there smoking.

maybe they did notice it once.

i reckon they said - ‘oh hey that’s clever.’

i recon they none of them ever said - ‘oh wait, i am going to die anyway, anytime’.

anyway i left after, not because that was too many reminders

of death, or the cloud of passive smoke;

but my tea was finished and i had no reason to want a second one.