the word is a blunt approximation

pain 

the woodpecker outside 
your spinal cord 

wants to break through 
you wake at 4 and send the text 

the number is old 
everyone uses Signal now 

you just want to hold it, 
you were always going to flush it 

you don’t have bravery or 
substance 

you flirt with the idea 
of relief 

* 

redux fantasy 

when joey and dee dee sang it
did they know about slow release 

the morphine 
genevieve gave you 

from the motorcycle accident 
the orange plastic 

the purity:::: 
the hamptons classic 

the group chat 
what are we wearing

the Samshield Shadowmatt 
Crystal Fabric Top Helmet 

blowing snot on your shirt 
in the grandstand 

the spare ticket enslaved grounds 
legacy braided manes 

bam-bam-bambam bambam-bam-bambam, i wanna be sedated
bam-bam-bambam bambam-bam-bambam, i wanna be sedated

Lily Lady Cook is a writer who lives in New York City. In her free time she does crosswords and watches baseball.