Why do you wear a
necklace of bent IV needles

Why do you use
irony as a terminal punctuation mark

Why do you slide
splinters of wood under your fingernails

Why did you go
visit your gravesite yesterday

Why do you bend
thorns off roses and set them under your doll’s eyelids

Why does it
frighten you to be alone for two hours

Why do you put a
carpet tack in your mouth and stab it into your tongue

Why do you ask
why I believe in breathing tomorrow

Why do you wrap
the raspberry cane tight about your left wrist

Why did you set
fire to the road maps to your home town and inhale the smoke

Why do you take
your gloves off when you reach for the poison ivy

Why did you want
to learn how to take apart a disposable BIC razor

Why did you slide
a rusty nail into the nipple of your right breast

Why did you ask
me to write this hateful poem to you and mail it

John McKernan
05 20 16