i wear this drowning gown
too white, burnout velvet and laced legs,
to be alive
and i am drawing my hands

on the wall, holding on.to
the stems, bathed green with afterlife,

aftermath of obscene dreams,
of a train full of trinity. . ..... 

orchids and oleander under the tongue

and i hear your voice creeping
up my throat
and the keening makes such
ominous back.of.my.mind cries.

a candy queen coated
in such a smock, mocking the
little girl

wandering

up and down

the aisles. . . ...