Pretense Poem

Rusty prayer to an alter Of water and work For an end or a break Or whatever comes first Borrowed thrill feeds the poet But it burned you the worst Grievance spills over the sides How much perceived is prescribed Eager threat marries time And the signs take their leave Believers are tossed to the street Where the deal and truth meet Thrown away for a line You lean over and whisper We're the last ripe skeptics On the vine So show me what you and yours Can do for me and mine In a drunk little town Crowning fiction and spite And the night hums along To the pretense they write Clearing lawns of their sticks Throw them over the fence Bite the wrist of the neighbor Teeth sinking in flesh How much perceived is prescribed Eager threat marries time And the signs take their leave Left to resign or obey Wary birds stop half-way Knowing they won't survive You lean over and whisper We're the last real seekers in this life So show me what you and yours Can mean to me and mine Scolding instinct Riddled with something to prove Sparrow at your feet Bloody offering left nothing to lose