Venus in Acrylic

I am tired and working on a larger piece... so here is a little poem :)

Venus in Acrylic

i went to rehab in April and

became a girl

in May

so really anything can happen and

by this time next year i might be

a tulip

or a transistor radio 

or a spaniel in heat

always changing

shifting

birthing anew

i’ve been thinking a lot about the

Big Questions and it’s starting

to look like God might be

less Mister Rogers

and more Geoffrey Dahmer

He gnaws on my flesh

and sharpens the bones

for sport

He fashions a pelvic shiv

to wave wanton through the

showers

He shouts en garde!

to His inmates

anyway my hair is much longer

but my hands are

the same

i have my mother’s hands

peasant hands we say

always reaching

out

away

towards

through

i am trying

you know

i really am trying

i trim the cuticles and chisel Venus

in acrylic 

lotions, serums, and tonics

anoint them

but even the best doctors

will tell you:

the hands they give

her away