From (C)OVID'S METAMORPHOSIS, Book the Fifth



Phineus seeks revenge for the loss of his bride

I know what we’re gonna do 
today: we march on the capital 
& demand access to chicken wings
& bottomless mozzarella sticks.  A fool 

is soon parted from his stimulus, 
& those of us glutted on the blood 
of assistant managers will pull down 
the plywood & take our places

in abandoned Hollywood bungalows. 
I’ve never had any thing to lose,
but lose anyway.  Vengeance is for 
people with lawns.  

Take it easy, there’s enough 
hemlock for everyone--remember 
to indicate “Untimely Death” 
on your timecard before proceeding

to the gallows you may need to share
a gallows with contingent faculty.

The fight: the death of Athis

From his pierced nipples, he had hung
an agate amulet & a pocket-
sized Purell dispenser.  He crossed
the threshold, calling out for a reasonable
co-payment, but was met w/ squadrons
of unemployed classic rock DJs who demanded
that he call in to win a set of tickets
to see a SoundCloud rapper who died 
in 2016.  The amulet grants the ability 
to speak to soccer moms.  Teach me 
to be cruel, like the way they tortured 
you the soccer moms say & activate 
active camouflage.  Like they were 
never there at all. You wake up 
one morning & BANG
you’re on fire.  Don’t go 
into the light that never goes out,
go gently into that good night 
club where doyennes walk coughs
in plastic.


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from (C)OVID'S METAMORPHOSIS, Book the Fifth

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