Chloroform Dinner Napkins

I grew up with paint thinner, not paint

I grew up with blood as thin as wineglass legs

To the eye of anyone who isn’t a sommelier; I am a torso floating

I am the skyscraper built on quicksand

he who needs not walk on water since he can’t walk at all

I can imitate a smile well enough to make it convincing

I have seen her do it frequently enough

The puppeteer in my brain’s well trained

at tensing the right muscles at the right time

I have been forced into the funnel of life so forcefully

I have mastered pretending to be human

but have no idea what that truthfully means

~

find John here