OPEN-BRAIN SURGERY

grocery list

1: milk &

2-honey, for your lips

or for your eyes

for your throat; to quiet the things crawling out from it

three--> flowers

to step on for the hell of it, petals to

eat

for the heaven of it— 

4; coal for your eyes, the thick kind, $2 dollars off if you go right now, with the gasoline still sweet on your tongue— rub them round like you're the

new cleopatra

5, snake venom, in a locket, you're the new cleopatra

6/ a throne, you're a wannabe cleopatra seven (??) friends: peel off the wall paper, there are people hiding in between the cracks

ocho: tomatoes (for soup, for your blood, fill up your veins with something real; rip out the plastic;) ninth is

the bible; make your own bible, wet the pages and spit on them until they're

yellow and shriveling doesn't matter what's inside, breathe out and make it

holy

10: ears. these ones aren't working.

onze: a jukebox, or a regular box, stick two silver sticks through the top, make your own music, clickclickity bang boombam, snapsnap finished or maybe for twelve

a city. all of it. the rats and the roaches and the razor blades and the lights and the people swap for teeth, or fingers, fingers that dig into palms so hard you can't let go of the five dollars in your pocket. another man combusts to death on the street.