misunderstood

Chances are I took it wrong, hanging there outside custom and context, words left unexpectedly on the line. Objects in the mind may be other than they appear, given the labors of the self and the lingering of the smoke. I typically miss the over or the under in good standing, pick a cards and nothings up my sleeves muttered in deference to the form, forever working off cheat sheets and ersatz odds. It’s the problem with levity that gravity doesn’t always allow for ascent, bodies at rest and motion and the serfs of sentience. When looking for the evidence of recorded beneficence the rudiments of my cognizance will often find a slew of hurts don’t its and two for flinchings. As far as navigation goes, it’s not the most utile map to follow.

It’s like the bumping in the night, the creak of floorboards, the indiscreet hinge. Sure, it sounds like murder, but is it really worth all that getting up? The confusion is really more brand building, cosmetic alloys and the slide of misalignment, a flag to unfurl and a smattering of stereotypes. There’s no road sign for how far to go after getting it wrong, everything done to the tune of the dramatic turn and inflamed apostasy. Waking to a world so brutal even the mirror leaves a mark, creased and leavened with mayhem and spilled salt. Scraping footfalls and hushed breathing in the dark halls, the flesh itself a fever.

I saw the moon in passing. I didn’t wave, or say anything. The moon has made it pretty clear it has nothing to say to me, window creeping not withstanding, most of its signals aren’t mixed. All the heavens brush on by, clouds and stars and alibis. Sometimes the reason comes down to the season, sometimes it’s about hats and feathers. The signs are read, the signs turn blue, the signs are for entertainment purposes only. The inkling teeters on the precipice, an imagining of drumrolls and music in the minor key as the mask is removed, another mystery for the mistaking.  I fold fetal, clutching at an ache for comfort, curling into question marks and involuntary exclamations. The knowing comes and goes, as soft and elusive as smoke.