the self-portrait that hangs
above my bed whispers lost
recollections kicking and screaming
against their will back into
my head while I sleep

psychic vampires with severe
eyebrows siphon fate’s
bloated liver while the
all-important pacifier of faith
mollifies my craving like a
verbal pie in the face

awakening in an uncontrollable bubble
I hit my knees and pray
forgive us this day
our existential dread

– James Kowalczyk