"Discard the skin"
Mathias Svalina

Discard the skin

your parents

left dangling

from your throat,

 

their Buick,

the smell

of a watch spring.

 

The farmer

founds a hospital

of blades

 

& all the patients

bury themselves

in mulch.

 

The priest

stands over the crowd

of unblessed waters,

 

the light

the stained glass windows

refracts into whispers.

 

Learn a trade

in suffering.

 

Speak the tongue

of the snake’s tongue.

 

Be strong

& choose your strength

in the parasite.