I remember when the power went out
I was staring at the cracks in my linoleum kitchen tile
My mother would tell me I should wash the floor
But I dont have the time
Too busy staring
Milk in hand
Milk in my stomach
Gurgling like white Elmer’s glue
Cottage cheese
Internal stomach like
Clumpy, gel covered tissues
Splashed in white
It drips
Strange when linoleum
Regurgitates thoughts
Of stomach lining
Suddenly dark
I hear your laughter
Sighs
And squeals
Through the vent
Above my humming fridge
The darkness shocks those who communicate
Consumed in conversation
Phone calls
Colored pixel watching
On their 46 inch plasma screens
Time stealing boxes that take the attention off
The vents above your fridge
Criss-Cross
The metal gate
Dust covered one side
Paint on the other
Layered like the skin I bite off my fingers
My mother would say I shouldn’t bite
But I don’t have anything else
To occupy the lips
That drink the milk
The white that clings to my taste buds
Like the lacquered air that clings through the vents
Aboves the fridges
Air confused by hot to cold
Like milk to stomach acid
The power’s out
My stare keeps me from noticing
A trance where eyes go pink
Dry
Like milk lid flakes
I hate those crusty bits that cling to my lips
I touch
I bite again
I repaint my vent
Another layer
Another glass
Another power out
Such heat
My mother told me to buy an
Air conditioner
But I don’t see the need
I can stand in front of the glowing door
Drink my milk
And feel the cold
And stare at the vent
It’s above my fridge
Just like yours
I sit in the dark
Foot steps
There’s a knock
I haven’t heard a knock since mother came last June
To remind me of the floor
My fingers
And the air
A knock
3 out of 4
Only four rooms in this complex
Like a cow
Four stomachs
Our white walls the milk
I’m in one
There’s three more
Let me see your stomach
Our apartment complex moos…
