vertigo

walking around

on solid ground

curling toes

among blades of grass

think I’ll rest for a bit

warm summer air

was stifling up there

inhale a bit of that

earthly smell

handfuls of soil

smeared on skin

dirty looks better

on a woman of sin

tops of trees

bob and sway with

after noon delight

it’s enticing, way up

there. no room for

wrongdoing

no perception of

inadequacy

and for a moment

(just a moment)

there’s a twinge of

regret. lusty for that

lightheaded

weightlessness

velvet embrace

creeping blush like

wildfire

bursting chest

endless repentance

she rubs her wrists in

reminiscence

bound to that

pedestal

captor and captive

the sickness

rolling waves of nausea

madness sets in like

slow drip drops on the

forehead

he screams at her

when he’s with her

he feels like he could die

and that would be

all right

she wants to stay

up there with him

far away

from the hard ground

below

but she knows she

has to go

she’ll hang on her

chains if she must

the birds will come for her

if she causes a scene

she screams

she can’t resist

she can’t go out like this

flightless

growing cold

star of the stage of

doing what she’s told

they’ll peck out her

eyes, her brains

her soul

but instead they go for

her chains

and she is flightless

no more.