Claire Scott’s most recent poem to appear here was “Saturday Night at Ryokos” (August 2019).
Die Die
By Claire Scott
despite its plaintive bleat
a little lamb of hope
just doesn’t cut it
when the landlord looms
the electricity flickers
bits of dried prayers & take out pizza
don’t fill desolate nights
colorless as blunt knives
no faith in tea leaves or tarot
no faith in sawdust gods
parched effigies
who promised protection
from a mother hollowed
by bitterness, blaming me
for hangnails, ulcers,
cirrhosis of her liver
a mother who lingers on & on
fierce and unforgiving
please understand
I don’t really want to die die
but there’s no way out of this life
alive.