The Shadows of My Cave

 

a poem is what I do to myself
with the masochistic precision of a dentist
pulling out teeth from unanesthetized gums

in an instant, words fill my mouth
like fresh bubbles of hemoglobin-
free degustation of the raw human mind

a poem is a pair of parentheses,
a life interrupter,
doors that I open to slide outside time

in an instant, I can hear my breath,
as my retina projects
the shadows of my cave.

Photo via Unsplash.