Housestaff Volume 3

Children give me permission.

you have three-quarters of a leg on the left

Doritos on chest. South Park.

Wet, cold, black surrounds me

Darkness descends

Dax’s orange hat

You arrived alone that autumn night, your tiny

“You’re a resident?”

I like my mask

“My father died, slipped in the shower.”

“I’m sick, Doctor!”

I stand on the side you can still see from

Your thin skin

She told me she

I feel fine, she said;

Blue and floppy you arrive

What if we could cover up blemishes, hide

Avalon Be Damned

brown eyes wild with panic

Seeing them identify

You sign

I remember touching her face, I knew it was

To seeing death. I can’t grieve.