For ****'s sake, Carol. My heart just stopped for a little. I’m not dead yet.
“Oh, Frank...”
*Don’t ‘Oh, Frank’ me. I’m perfectly fine, see? Just help me get my boots on.

Being in the hospital is a lot like being in prison, but with more fluorescent lights and the constant smell of death and tongue depressors. I want to go home, but I can’t seem to move my legs. Or my arms. Or anything. I want to scream at the ******* who keeps messing with my IV, but I can’t find my words. I think she’s starting to get the hint thanks to the speedy and steady beeping of my heart monitor and my amazingly high blood pressure. I have to go. Now.
They say I may never make it out of here. To hell with them. There’s nothing I want more than to sit in my recliner, open a cold one or five and watch the Big Blue beat Brady one last time. Heh, the look on his face when we ruined their perfect season. Still one of the greatest sights in my lifetime.
“Hello, Mrs. Rosecrans.”
Oh, Jesus Christ. Not this airhead again. Don’t you talk to my wife.
“Dr. Wasser, he looked at me today. He’s there. I see it. Are you sure?”
“Based on the CAT scans we’ve taken, the possibility of him waking up is very, very slim.”
“But he looked at me...”
“It was just a reflex. Look, if I pinch his skin, I’m not getting a reaction.”
What is the matter with you? Going around pinching people who can’t yell back... I wish I could give this guy a piece of my mind right about now.
“Okay. So, what can we do?”
Her voice is shaking. I want to tell her that there’s nothing to worry about.
“At this point, we would need you to start coming to a decision.”
The room goes silent, and I can hear my barely beating heart sink.
I don’t want to die here.

i hear you in your room
Wild Thing,
howling at the moon
swinging from your blanket vines.
it’s you who’s gnashing and gnarling,
growling and moaning.

give up your crown
Wild Thing,
set the yellow paper on the ground
sail across the sea in
your cardboard-box boat
and float back to where you belong.

i’ve waited for years
and weeks and days
Wild Thing,
for you to hear me,
watching the steam and love waft off
your dinner every night.

listen to my roar,
Wild Thing:
don’t let the wild rumpus
reach too far into who you are.

why is it that whenever we–
women–
show the slightest sign of anger or strength
we are presented with one of two masks:
the *****, or better yet,
the Joke.

why can’t we demand anything
without being called fickle or foolish
while a man can do the same and be called
Boss?

why can’t we choose to look like the calla
and not be chastised for pettiness,
for wanting to feel pretty?
after telling us that we’re duped and doped by media,
we’re labeled with a laugh
or the scales of a serpent when we want
to to bite back.

you chuckle when i bare my teeth,
you tell me that i’m cute when I’m angry.
I dare you to tell me why.

i am not a *****
i am far from a Joke.
i have skin and bones
hands to work with
eyes to see and most importantly
i have guts.
*i am human.

Sometimes wonder if I have synesthesia
Or something like it
Cause for me I associate colors and animals with people
Cause I see time as a map in my head of memories and images of greenery and snow and memories of my life instead of seasons so that I can cycle through the hours of a day in class periods on weekdays viewed as memories of the class, and walk through the past which takes a sharp left at the year 2000 and from there on the flatness of the millenial years drops off into a sloping textbook
Cause sounds and words have textures on my tongue, notes tickling my taste buds as they spill out
Cause I can taste electricity which has a surprisingly dead flavor
Cause I can describe colors with texture and it makes perfect sense to me even though my friends say it cannot be done
Because if I don't, I don't know what the hell to call this

Last night I reached my hand out to the monster under my bed whose eyes usually glow scarlet and whose teeth typically gnash and snap but this time had the same deep brown eyes and average teeth that I do

Last night I pulled my skeleton out of the closet and we danced to the blue jazz that floated through my window from the sax player below and then we played never-have-I-ever and watched SciFi TV on Netflix

Last night I asked the mermaid down the bathtub drain if she'd like to come up for a swim and we laughed and splashed and sat on my roof in the star light talking about love and sushi recipes and where to get a really good haircut

Last night I called out to the werewolf who roams these parts as he called out to the silver globe of a moon and I gave him some salad because he's a vegetarian and he showed me pictures of his pet bunnies Morningglory and Killer

Last night I covered the mirrors and opened the shades for my vampiric friend Velma, a quiet girl who volunteers at the animal shelter and soup kitchen

Last night I said good night to my nocturnal friends and went back inside to turn off the lights and make sure my dog was inside who I call Albertius Rex but was previously known just as Cerberus

if I hopped into your life a frog
and asked you to kiss me
would you trust a frog