#3 1994
10 August 2024 (deleted one word)
a poem for younger readers from my hypertext novel axel-and-alice
the night cow
the nightcow’s milk
fills plastic containers
like black paint
it punctuates
the supermarket shelves
I can’t drink enough of it
I guzzle in disgrace
the darkness
slides down inside me
I follow the robot trolley
along flourescent aisles
drop cash in the fast lane
run for cover
catch a cab
keep the shades over my eyes
hold the evil in my stomach
while the corners lurch
I stagger to the cave
where fear was born
suck some more milk
black and cold
anxious
stumble to a shower
slip black soap over my skin
etch it with hot tattoos
and scream and scream
but no matter what I do
I can’t wash this sunlight off my face