Day: May 19, 2023

daisydaisy

Tetman Callis 0 Comments 5:03 pm

daisy lives at the county jail
she wears faded blue coveralls with the name of the jail
in faded yellow stencil on the back
she sleeps on a mattress on the floor in the day room under
the television set with screwy colors and the sound
that’s broke and makes no sound

daisy wakes

the jailhouse guardman says
good morning, daisy
about time you woke up, sleeping beauty

daisy has short brown hair that frames her freckled face
her nose is thin and shiny
her green eyes have a distance in them
a receding depth leading inward to a place neither she
nor anyone else can reach

the jailhouse guardman tells me
medical’s been up here ten times this week for seizure calls on her
she fakes a lot of seizures
they figure only two of them were real

i wonder how they know

daisy smiles
stands up
looks around
says something to no one
sits down and covers her eyes with her hands

(Copyright 2023 by Tetman Callis.)

moist heatmoist heat

Tetman Callis 0 Comments 5:43 am

the
no-no
man
lives
inside
me
he
tries
to
get
out
through
my
mouth
he
whispers
his
no!
no!
out
through
my
mouth
he
hears
me
thinking
sees
what
i
see
feels
what
my
fingers
feel
i
bite
off
the
tips
of
my
fingers
biting
off
the
tips
one
by
one
to
swallow
one
by
one
my fingertips and choke unto silence the no-no man

(Copyright 2023 by Tetman Callis.)