I had a video call
I made a chicken wrap
but I hadn’t budgeted my time
correctly
the call was ringing
by the time I sat down
I put the wrap
on my dresser next to me
on top of a box of wine
I felt it was relatively safe there
25 minutes or so later
I grabbed the wrap
took a big bite
it was delicious
I needed it so bad
low blood sugar
I took another bite
felt that a lot of it ended up
in my beard
I could feel lettuce and cheese
swimming down my beard
then I felt something
swimming up my beard
I smacked it a few times
took another bite
then my hand felt ridiculous
almost like pins and needles
I looked at my hand
saw hundreds
of tiny black ants
running around in absolute madness
chaos
the inside of the wrap
looked a deep dark black hole
a void
because of all the ants
they were sprinting up my arm
I could feel them crawling
through my beard
I spit the food against the wall
ran out of the room
into the kitchen and screamed:
I’M A MONSTER!
LOOK! LOOK!
ALL THE ANTS!
HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF ANTS!
I ATE THEM!
THEY ARE INSIDE OF ME!
THEY ARE CRAWLING
THROUGH MY BODY!
I’M A MONSTER!
I threw the wrap into the sink
let the water run down my hands
rubbed all the ants off
killing them at the same time
spitting into the sink
still screaming
ludicrous obscenities
Get your copy of FINGERING THE MUNDANE my early poems. It’s a collection of 6 out of print chapbooks. 250 pages of poetry!
