Megan Webster
FULL MOON
He hit the sack at two
now he's up at four
belting rock in the shower.
Neighbors punch the wall.
What the hell, I mutter as I screw
my eyes open, scratch
a mental note of events:
starts new job on Monday
gets fired on Friday
turns up in mint Honda on Saturday
borrows $20 for gas
The rock moves to the kitchen,
plates & pans clatter in the sink.
I shuffle toward the din.
What's up? I croak
What's up, he fires, his eyes weaseling
is I'm out of here, hitting the road
and he jerks his head
to the humped backpack in the hall
heading west to California
But, I start . . .
plenty of work out there I'll get a job rent a villa in Malibu
buy a yacht explore the Pacific
But, I shout . . .
check out Hawaii Australia Bora Bora
I check his medication.
Your lithium, I yell
as he bounces toward the door.
Lithium, he barks, was screwing up my head
I flushed that shit a week ago
and you better quit saying I'm bipolar
that's only a label you
and that crazy doctor stuck on me
And he slams the door.
* * *
I am now flooded with despair, almost
hysteria, as if I were smothering. As if a
great muscular owl were sitting on my chest,
its talons clenching and constricting my
heart.
-- Sylvia Plath
I Want to Jump
out
of my skin, he cries
as he stomps around the house
taut as the lip
of a newborn moon.
We flash frowns across the table
stretch our minds
for replies
turn to Newsweek's article
on pharmaceutical wonders.
I want to jump
out
of my skin, he screams.
Only snakes jump out of their skins
his small daughter blurts
from a mouth full of pizza.
Crossing in the hallway
I pat his back
remind him of tomorrow's appointment
beg him to hang in -
But in the down comfort of my bed
his riff plays like
Kubek's blues guitar
holding my sleep hostage
on a frozen horizon.
I want to burrow
beneath
his dermis
like a scabies queen -
slay the monster
squeezing him
out
of his skin.
Megan Webster teaches poetry at San Diego Writers, Ink
and also does freelance editing. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming
in numerous publications including Sunshine / Noir, ONTHEBUS, The Connecticut Review and Poiesis. Bipolar Express was awarded
the 2004 San Diego BookAward for Best Unpublished Poetry Chapbook. Megan can
be reached at MWeb5089@aol.com. |