as if with
an articulate
guest he argues
with air
each moment in
sharp contention
like a steel
sliding along
a knife’s edge
until he eviscerates
himself again
and then again
with unforgiving
sighs
every faux pas
every fault pulsates
like sneers rippling
along a smile
each word mouthed
repetitively
to painful precisions
slicing what’s said
into thinner and
thinner strips
until his words
fall meaningless
below tattered white
flags fluttering
flecked with blood
among the dying
and the dead
in yet another
distant battlefield
(October 1, 2015)
subtext 