RC deWinter
it’s an edgy business
this everyday shedding of the skin
that makes us look like you
the tearing off of neckties
holding molded heads in place
sliding skirts down caramelized hips
that when freed splash to the floor
liquid streams from the fingers of
hands unzipped from the sleeves
that anchor them
our puddled essence
glows with the light of comets
sings in a frequency you cannot hear
at a volume that would shatter
your eardrums if you could
energy that must chaperoned into
human form every morning
our is not even an accurate term
for when we’re loosed we’re not we
but one
one entity performing the dance of
mitosis daily
then recombining into the reality of the one
in our human suits we are civil
even friendly
we speak knowledgeably of everything
consuming your thoughts
even down to the high prices at the
supermarkets we never visit
we bring flowers for the occasions
you think require them
birthdays funerals etcetera
and if trapped in afterwork bonhomie
have smiles and jokes at the ready
it’s when we are not we but one
that our greatest service is performed
scouring your world clean
of the hopeless the useless the old
feeding the waiting worms enriching the soil
that nourishes you who remain
and yes
regrettably there is collateral damage
occasionally mistakes are made
but in the end it all makes
what you cling to possible
♦♦♦
RC deWinter’s poetry is widely anthologized, notably in New York City Haiku (NY Times, February 2017), Coffin Bell Two (March 2020), Winter Anthology: Healing Felines and Femmes, (Other Worldly Women Press, December 2020), Now We Heal: An Anthology of Hope, (Wellworth Publishing, December 2020) in print: 2River, Event, Gargoyle Magazine, Meat For Tea: The Valley Review, the minnesota review, Night Picnic Journal, Prairie Schooner, Southword among others and appears in numerous online literary journals.