you
sniveling bastard, you,
just try to
tread water
in my inner
swimming
pool (eyes
burning
from the
chemicals) or stay
upright in
my up- and downdrafts.
I do not
negotiate. There will be
no
discussion of conditions
here. I am
a fortress
with
unscalable walls
rugged
battlements
a very wide
moat full of sharks
and hungry
crocodiles
and an extremely
bad-tempered
snapping
turtle.
Has your
skin begun to blister
yet from
the fallout of my
disdain?
When the lights are
off, feel
free to imagine
my
expression, cloudy like an
impending
thunderstorm
unseen but
determined
not to
soften at all.
