this needle tells me

bedtime stories

as the pillow

swells my comfort

with this liquid caramel

slipping under my covers,

touching me here

in the crook of my arm,

a seduction leading

to kisses and fingers

between these thighs

between my eyes

i watch

the mad hatter

play solitaire on my bed,

in my head,

ring around the rosie lullabies

rocking me to sleep,

keeping me awake,

i follow my tracks

to a holiday in Paris

without ever leaving home

my hollow reflection

in the mirror

makes me giggle,

so i paint my ghosts

with joker smiles

and freedom guiles,

i am drooling,

i am schooling

the children i will never have

in the art of dying

with a monkey on your back.