Fred Aiken Writing

don’t bring it up in the first place

there’s a burn scar on my hand
that’s supposed to signify something
perhaps something that happened long ago
and i’m just not in the right headspace to talk about it right now
so maybe it’s best if we just drop the subject right now
and yes
i understand that i was the one that brought it up to begin with
but also
sometimes i can’t help but solicit attention for the scars
from childhood that seem to never go away

order on the internet

your amazon order has been placed
but there’s no wait
it will be there in one quick
pace pace pace
yourself while the gettin’s good
while the time flies
and flies and flies up all over the wall
there not much to running up a tab
not quite paid off
but still climbing
to the moon! they say or something quite similar
by way of making spending money seem exciting
exchanging little coins
for little trinkets
then going back into hiding
well look at that
what do you know
your amazon package has arrived

melatonin

melo-mela-moanin’-ownin’-tone-deaf
scorched marks running
down my ear canal
as the medication bursts on through
down through the gullet
take a right at the kidney
then maybe greet the gallbladder
until one-two stop brake
to smell the roses
artificial roses—but what’s the dif
just sniff though not too deeply
while the mind falls adrift
the body will become all stiff
and the melatonin will reach its climax
only to be awoken
next morning
next moanin
next all too awake at the crack of dawn
too damn long to be late-late-late
back to work
it’s not too bad
just don’t call in sick
so you can save up quick
and later kick up your feet
to the sweet—sweet—sweet ole symphony
of sleep to the eternal beat