Empiricist

Empty room

Cast about for a familiar object

Because my body needs coordinates to move

In the dark

Range of motion shrivels all around me

All my nightmares I am slowly being cocooned

A single calf in the hecatomb

Crescent moon

Hollowed out of all my fabled insides

Occam shave me down to primal truth—return me to the womb

The spirit held a magic flask

Said: Drink it to forget the past

But careful it’s a poison batch

Each drop more painful than the last

If you fail you’ll wish for death

If you finish, you’ll be free at last

Asa nisi masa

Asa nisi masa

Asa nisi masa

Asa nisi masa

Hello?

Mother pulled from father’s ribs, little baby in a crib, hands reaching up

Before the blinding light is split through the prism of your organs into colors

All that being and nothingness, on the same möbius strip

Sleep and waking up

On the first day

Wipe the blank slate

And you join the banquet

Served up helpless on a plate

But you find your land legs

And you learn to imitate

You’ll wear any feather and hope that your efforts attract a mate

One day your children find you

Locked in the bathroom, staring in horror at the reflection of your face

And you say you’re sorry to the guests at your party

But you can’t help wonder, who is this person you celebrate?

And so the light fades

It’s still your birthday

So blow out your past lives like they’re candles on the cake