By ślimak vr0k
[Always keep your hands and fingers flat when feeding the beasts.]
the lies came easy, so we cut my nose and threw the pieces on the fire to escape the freeze we melted snow for water, but food was scarce
we’d come to the woods, because we wished to live deliberately, maybe catch some fish maybe pet a bunny, roast some marshmallows
when the snowing started, we joked about needing skis we stopped telling jokes, the lies in them weren’t strong enough, same with fiction
not enough shot star, not enough dead cricket the nose knows the difference a lie can’t preclude the possibility of belief
must already fester in the hearer a bit of dung to bury a malicious kernel like you’re too kind or the only sinner
like click trained dogs we began believing everything the sound of teeth falling out was a squirrel those who grew too sick went out birding
after we’d eaten the last box of crayons when the time came to eat each other I told them the dead were Christmas hams
when their eyes shook and their hands dulled I told them they were getting very sleepy now so groaned the tired suckled sow, goodnight sow
goodnight blanket, goodnight pigs in blankets goodnight fire, goodnight pan, goodnight hook goodnight night floor, goodnight cabin with one room
goodnight candles, goodnight birds, goodnight snow goodnight door, goodnight limbs in tourniquets goodnight cup, goodnight lice, goodnight moon
and me? I’m warm and full of Christmas ham call the roller of big cigars, slap my ass I’ve got no strings on me, I’m fine everything’s fine, look at my perfectly normal face