the low boil

i've been walking into churches

and kneeling on the kneeling things

and praying to the windows

on the wall there in the stone

praying to be OK with all

the things are not OK at all

that fill me with snakes and make

me mad most of the time when

i think about them. as i put

my pants on and put the wax

in my hair. to make it stick up

and so i will be protected

from the kids in elementary school

and then in junior high school

and then, especially in high school

and even after that at places outside

of my place where i've put

everything in it's place so

that i know where everything

is and can find it whenever i need it

or in case i see the black bird of

death fly across the sky of your face

while you lie to me about paris in glasgow

showing me pictures of rome