Reading the Bleed

Janine Joseph

Though they say to lie still, your brain can sometimes still

            be a slime of what it was if you have a night start in the bore.

You might be a firework of broccoli curds, an umbrella of orange

            segments opening on the screen. Your brain’s lit band

might bell like a pepper, But where be the seeds? you will ask

            because the images will look like danger. A wart of garlic,

a nightmare of Brussels sprouts, an onion supernova — all of your brains

            will excite in the magnetic field. On the narrow slab you will not dare

close your peach pit eyes to the banging. And then you will.

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