pain relief
by t. zoEy benally

wrongly i assumed i had outgrown this tendancy
odd mannerism, funny twitch, silly fidget
mistakenly thought this suicidal cowlick
had finally straightened and my hair hung
minus that odd flip on the right lower edge

yet here i sit again, staring into the blankroom
devoid of the usual landmarks--lightswitches
wall outlets, shelves--nothing but invisible walls
smoothed out of existance with white plaster
gesso-ed, waiting, for my painting of the unknown

this weakness, this flaw, this dent in my soul
everyone thinks it's for attention, to control
they just can't see the nightmare parched fields
infested by tan armored grasshoppers, spitting
fear tobacco, preparing to blend in with dirt

if these tires could just survive this pothole
drive on into the next town, where i'm sure
there's a gas station, squeegie in blue window cleaner
glass coolers of fizzy soda, and a telephone
where i could call and you'd tell me it'll be okay