every use
the wrong use.
sometimes use
as whip.
the crack at the end,
the most minor
retort. hands
up, no matter.
cannot breathe
with the mask on yet
still refusal to move
without the mask on.
blood washes quickly
into summer’s gutters.
in the winter
its movement is
glacial.
nowhere
to hide. nowhere
to hide despite
the masks. nowhere
to hide despite
the cowering.
the money is
filthy; it is no fault
of the money. the money
is wretched is
virulent.
a strip of cloth over
the mouth. air-
starved brains operate
with only the simplest
of commands.
you left your reasons
there
in your blood.
a long guttering line
trailing you. haunting
you. a bigot’s
burial, the featureless
fields.
blood rutting like pigs.
zakschafer.com 