i hadn’t yet put the
studded tires
on my
bicycle and
the ground
went ahead and
got itself froze
and slick so
when i was
cycling
over the bridge,
[bridge freezes
before road],
my un-studded tires
failed to grab and
i toppled over.
now i’m not like those
professional cyclists
who sacrifice their
very own body
for their sport,
you see i still have
plenty of meat.
when one of those
professionals cyclists
falls all that’s there to
hit pavement
is unadorned bone.
those cyclists sacrifice
their very own body
for their sport,
letting the body
feed upon itself until
there is little left but
sparkling bone and
thick slabs of
quadriceps.
i am less
devotional,
i am more
timid
in my worship.
i do not allow
my body
to feed upon
itself.
instead i give it bits
of other animals and
different types of
vegetables and grains,
to keep it from doing
what it wants,
what it wants
which is to feed upon
itself.
how strange that we,
an animal,
take the flesh of
another animal
and build it into ourself,
i think,
as i pick myself
up,
unbroken,
from the
slippery bridge
pavement.
eat a dick,
i tell my
enemies.
eat a dick,
i tell my
friends.
this is meant as
an insult.
this is meant as
a joke.
it’s often easier to
identify
the relationship
one has with
an enemy,
it’s just an
easy agreement;
i don’t like you and
you don’t like me and
if given the chance we
very well
may attempt to
harm each other’s
bodies.
it’s more difficult to
understand our
friendships as our
friends often do us
so much more
harm than our
enemies.
walking quickly and
with only moderate fitness,
so,
walking quickly and
breathing heavily,
i find myself in the
windless canyon
created by the edifices of
two buildings.
a man i do not know
approaches me,
i breathe in and
am caught by the sharp barbs
of his chemically-enhanced scent.
i blow out forcefully,
in attempt to expel
all of it,
all of him,
from me.
i hold my breath for
many paces
until i feel myself
safely outside of
his cloud.
feeding people is
one of the kindest and
most neighborly things
one can do,
isn’t it.
zakschafer.com 