oh no please
go. i’m sick
of my irises being old.
of my tires
collecting dust. of
the clinging hint of decay
and must.

the background
to this scene is an old woman –
who is me.
the foreground to this scene is
a photocopier.
click. screeeen. click. screeeen.
laminating lines that
insist

will this suffice? half of
‘the want bone’ is missing.
the class won’t mind. half of
my mind is loping
like an orangutan or
an urchin gone blind,
scrounging about the
grime-grains of the sea.

the foreground is you.
the background is me.