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The Rent I Pay
Published in the May 2019 issue of The Write Launch Literary Magazine
poetry

in the freezing rain
the trails are
littered with

owned or owed
portions of my mind
a brain trying to supply

itself with expectations
tongue turned poised
to carve

eyes aching for clarity
blades of thought
twisted inward

deep in debt
with nothing left to give
to my slumlord

of decomposing falsehoods
I have banished
over and over

deception, I name
you my preaching cheat
there’s a Judas among me

I empty piles of me
into these woods
a temporary installment

with interest
the rent I pay on these lies is steep
on my way back

the rain
​on the ice
rather sounds like applause.