Maine Gains— , by Melissa Chaconas

I tattoo in black
ink the word
relax
(but
w/ a
S
because
S is
nicer, softer
than X
marks the
spot)
in ancient
text on fingers like henna
I forget to go to
the star, the
extraord9inary special
Jewels
4 ways to stuff
my dolphingates full

I need thriller results
no more making friends
laugh w/my painfully empty dates

I turn your letter inside out
rip the sides down to open a passage
and pound out soft dough
words not ready to go
mountain climbing or
bake bread 4 the hungry
Will a normal Halloween past by?
(why is that sentence strange with irony?)
Why is it a competition always
Who holds MORE
Pain? Actually I am
Pretty good w/ games

let me
give you
a great introduction
to my
silent veins
I plus
focus plus
lines from chemicals ? on my
hands
will my palm reader
lose another