commemoration

the rain howled out
brains and brawn all shattered on the sidewalk:
here we sit, crones with clove cigarettes,
a purple taste under the bruised sky.

there goes the machismo swinging by;
there it goes -
head held high,
do no wrong;
out of key, can't sing.

my knuckles scraped in the muck too long,
became too gored with caking liquids,
slick poisons, white stained cocaine tread outpaced heart.

holding my tongue, lest
curses drop like spittle,
inelegant words for lady mouths -
has honey-man gone to bile?
tragedy, tragedy, unwilled comic tragedy.

honey-heart gone to bile - that's closer,
that's it,
the chairs scrape and shiver,
the air is jabbed for emphasis -
i feel it melting, macerating inside -
yes, exactly,
it's like the strawberries have gone all to melt;
the tongue is fooled by memory,
it slips through fingers -
the skeleton gone