The Mechanics of Men

she outgrew the math. like neanderthal. climbing laborious ladders. up to locked windows. down to empty cellars. the drudgery of numbers her only tether. as the world became helium. the pale gravity of men. weaker than she thought. as it all disappeared into the shrug of an indifferent atmosphere.

space.

making us large. feverish children sucking on the splinters of popsicle sticks.

space.

proving us small. in quiet confessions. scrapes of flesh. too lean to wear. thin crutches. bland surrenders. brighter than all this darkness.

the lion. his fangs on the sun. biting down. pretending he's not hungry.

time in pale reversals. games of checkers. spoil the board. as her king dances against the check. a stubborn devil on the perimeter of perdition. repairing the apple that was bitten. with the bones of orphans.

time wakes her up. ignites that soft inferno. boiling in her fist. she pets the wolf with one hand and cuts it open with the other.

the fairy tale becomes her. breadcrumbs in the forest. stale enough to follow.

the mechanics of men. uglier than she had anticipated.