vervain______

the arms are hurt from holding on so long. a tree branch moves its bark into your skin if you stay too long, and i have. i wanted to be an owl, although they scare me. it was a dark night, there was nothing to see, it was all blue or grey and then in a clearing there was an orange happy birthday party for a child and his kid friends who should have been asleep at that hour, but were'nt. i was up creeping around, afterall, but i am an older child. just left the nest heard my mother's worried chirping. i fell out but i liked it. i fell out keeping my crown. it is a sign, an omen. when the young dream they want to be famous and validated. the old man came to the party bouncing a soccer ball on his knee and the girl was not really a girl but something else. her humanity was leaking away and her jaw was getting tight. i saw what it looked like i saw the bitterness coming in and her heart crawling out. it was not unlike a worm and they are sweet things. quiet saying nothing just building their tunnels and feeding birds. why does a heart have to be so spectacular? it is, afterall, a very simple thing. but the breath and the mind continued. it is not a terrible thing, the mind. just confused. extinguish the flames, it is time to go to bed.