--- E D   P A V L I C

-"He saved my soul from burning;
said he would, said he would-"



so how
"do you do" & wonder
at peels of birch
bark & sap hiss in the fireplace
whip pops as flames
cut my cheeks   reveal red sandstone
beneath my skin   sweat-visions
a sidewinder on its back   glowing
smoke-grey shards land
on my bare belly   now close
that book & read
quick get the shell & put your ear down
as skin sea boils
tattoos? Too nasal   like playing
"Harmonique" on blades
of grass between fingers   or
on comb & tissue
ain't nothing to sell-out   like stopping after
one page of Whitman   & by heart
always by heart
& wood burners flat
give in to intent
might as well go write your
name in the snow
sit ups are far too vague & that shallow
ache could mean just
about anything   no past & like sweat
off fake sex
gone soon as you stop & leaves
no scars to work with
for all that phony-ass writhing   might as well
beg advice of fleas
here   your eyes close down
tight as frayed slip knots
& fingers read my flesh in a 
raw pulse of rising braille
dry lips count spades   in 
blistered scales