The Angels
They came to Earth
And perched on the property ladder
They raise the value when they move in
But nobody will ever sell afterwards
They’ll rent by the minute instead
To the pilgrimage that burrows
Into bedrooms that are nests
Inside houses that are blessed
The pride of families who will live well
We don’t know why they’re chosen
For this enviable fate
So protected
So healthy
So happy
So set
The angels
Are not from God
But they’re full of kindness
They don’t have wings, they’re ugly
Their roots drip down the walls
Hairy wrinkles and tentacles
Steaming slime and smells
Like an open womb
But invisible
Ebbing and flowing secretly
Growing glistening breathing ceilings
Watching parents and their children dream
You’ll only see them if you wake
While they feed
They eat nightmares
Out of your skull
But if you wake
You’ll see
You’ll hear
You’ll smell
If you can stand still
If you can hold it together
If you don’t shout or cry, it’s hard
You can ask them
If you can
I asked
Why
The tentacles moved like the weeds on a river bed
The tips curled back their deep cracks burst open
I bit down on my screams at every flowering flash
If you don’t shout or cry, it’s hard, it hurts
Lilac yellow and red
Yellow lilac and red
Red yellow and lilac
Red lilac and yellow
It meant I love you
I think
Watching my nightmare
Swimming in its veins
I couldn’t help it
I didn’t want to
Cry
I ended it too soon
I couldn’t afford more rent anyway
I didn’t have any baggage
I walked
Pensive amber windows
Over white picket fences
Sealed in the twilight
I walked
Broken toys in the sun
Blaring bouncing children
Ripping out the grass
I walked
Sunday supermarket alleys
Plastic bags and cardboard
Stained wooden crates
I walked
Locked green iron doors
Apple pies behind thin glass
Peppered marble floors
I walked
To the sad side of town
Where we made more nightmares
Broke young unsatisfied
I walked
If our dreams are food
If our world is soil
I mean is it
Are we rooted
I mean if we
Are we like this too
I mean in another world
Into bedrooms that are nests
Inside houses that are blessed
Where we’re as ugly and as kind
Where we’re the angels