today kai thx byed

today she
did not
get engaged,
get pregnant,
or get dyed

today she
did not
get high,
get dead,
or get kai thx byed

but she
did fall
into Fool’s Well:
minor slip-up,
a backslide

beg, beg,
the corner
prophet cried

once a beggar,
always a beggar!
she tried to hold
fast but the tide

hauled strong
no lassie barked
no dark savior by
her side

just a little blood
(a smear) she
clawed her own
way up and out
chide, chide

but the quiet
voice arrived

deride the pied piper,
his slit-eyed
harlequin promises
he lied

she clicked yes,
but clucked no.
pride?

hail, or hide?
click, cluck
away from this
she sighed

still asking:
how great is this
greatest divide?

compassion pleads
to stay home
as practice for
a charred gut,
flayed wide

and—ah!
the damned
old prophet,
finally, defied!
today, denied!

she gave the
new silence
a chance
to decide

she gave the
new silence
a chance
to decide