Pacemaker

field complaints, play video games, call

center says come up for air

it’s not that hard, but hell is hot, hell is

the evidence of all you wish you were

but you are not

caloric value, 100 at a time, count your

steps till pacemakers between

cigarettes and wine

the circumstances are feeling fraught,

like being told how long you have and

then pretending you forgot

don’t know how to be happy, i just

know how to make it work

i am not what you deserve

(trees trying to be a forest because

that’s all they know, grass is dead

because the sprinklers won’t reach)

planned it out in episodes, i mapped

next season out, find a vital sign, check

for a pulse, turn to the wall and lay in

silence, persecution makes me whole