The Slithering Sky

The Slithering Sky
__________________

“He awoke,
opened his eyes.”
—Paul Bowles
The Sheltering Sky

The Slithering Sky 1

Sometimes it returns—
the slithering sky sickness
haunting me at night

The evening is heavy—
with young hustlers cruising
the rapacious streets

The back alleyways—
the spider webs of silence
the sky is screaming

The same dark mountains—
stark and aloof telling me that
I need go to the bars

Sometimes there’s only—
one dark alleyway up there
in the sky above my head

The Slithering Sky 2

At midnight it rains—
the boys hide in the cafes
it’s idiot time again

I need help sometimes—
dozens of young hoodlums
have perished for me

Cute hairy tarantulas—
with scorpions in their pants
sharks and stagnant writers

Sickness comes at night—
for me barbed wire lips
constant sightless eyes

The Slithering Sky 3

The wind comes down—
thru the cold mountain passes
he who stops is lost

Blessed be the night—
when the dark angels come out
the roofs wet with sweat

I’m undergoing changes—
my mind has frayed ends
the sky in slithering

I’m a screamy queen—
beyond the point of no return
simply disgusting

The Slithering Sky 4

The gods are moody—
I really can’t blame them
but I’ll sleep thru it

The curtains shuddering—
like windmills in the warm rain
sadness sweeps over me

I shall meet a beggar—
walking down a road in the
provinces who’ll be my lover

His curly hair glistens—
his feet wet from the rain
smokestack in the wilderness

Even the gods perhaps—
undergo changes sometimes
when they get bored or moody

The Slithering Sky 5

Crickets sing in my head—
isn’t that what they’re
supposed to do?

My cheeks are where—
Ahmed kisses them and
chews them at night

The lake in where—
my lover throws me
after we make love

My lips are where—
I bleed all night long
when he bites me

The dead of night—
is where I claw his back
down to his tight ass

Will my lips ever—
tell what my eyes saw
night after night?