three poems

Paige Carabello

Inside From Out

have  are  tendriling inside  as Ivy  presenting

but black lamprey eel   teeth and suckers

snake   weed-like   grow fast   up on crawling

our walls  felt  steel bonded  united  deep

moated  now find  pink spun  sugar  mere

artifice  horror   torn scab off   our cover

invaders  infesting  minute cracks   in base

as our home’s  epidermis   in-burrow  like

termites  spread  vein-like   on feeding   on

starch of  our courage both   shredding  on

ligaments  steel destroy  safety pins  thrown

up   hold walls  &nbsp  see bared  mortar  both

deeper look   both own   flaws break  to

restructure  to remedy  bond fix  build back

us   be stronger  what   no no   en-frenzied

inciting  it’s eating  wound   near into

salacious   slurping   our  &nbsp  death throes

voracious  stop  harm can save   still   figure

stop  it us  wait  can’t   bear

leftover nothing but

broken piled  memory

left us with

have nothing

now –

rent a

bulldozer

Its

in this of my age It’s a comfort to me It’s

embracing not blacking out past or defacing authorities laws and the order It’s there and so easy to watch on tv or to read on the screen how It’s clear how they’re wrong telling we stole the land or we aren’t fair to some or we need to love foreigners even though knowing most live high on handouts we give ‘em we pay for It’s telling what’s clear and It’s getting us back to the battle of hymn where we wage against evil and strangers bad morals besides It’s a sin to go breaking out windows or hurt good traditions break statues break laws they’re all losers the enemies here and we’re righteous It’s clear and It’s palatable simple swallow and best It’s within easy reach

Urban Boy-Child Palimpsest

Instructions:

Firstly,   if can salvage, if –

scrape all off  as to resmoothe

(no, you needn’t read what’s there

writ last be rst

be-damned, Original)

these kid skins’ quite susceptible

drinking deep first ink

Our cleanse requires cash for us –

and Master patience

(and huge sticks)

Results: grown years later

Your chosen “expert fixer”

used a tincture made of gall

too destructive method – it turns out…

but every us has  limits

plus, their  code was carved in skin

… whole manuscript was garbage,

after all