Love and Luck

(written July 23, 2008)

Legs of mutilated hope
And a cap from an empty bottle of pills:
Klonopin, it reads.

It feels as though I've spent half my days
Waiting for a name to turn from gray to black.

Time spent staring at the walls
And a sign to remind me:
Take your fucking pills.

It feels as though I've spent half my days
Wasting away this life I've been given.

Black on white--permanent ink
And marks you can't wash away:
Whore, they yell.

It feels as though I've spent half my days
Writing out these letters, verbs, and nouns.

Hair removal to purge memory
And a drawn-on wedding ring on my marriage finger:
Flash it with pride.

It feels as though I've spent half my days
Out of love and luck.