Word of the Week

Anathema can stalk
anyone, anywhere
like rhetoric, or marketing

it will find them

and use them
like a paycheck

~~~

For three days and nights
it’s been raining humans:

humans falling from heaven,
humans drowning in their own
Human-made puddles,
humans choking
on unshared wishbones.

(Humans with frightened, bulging
eyes, silently screaming
sclerosis, sclerosis)

Anathema catches these humans
by the tongue, one by one,
as they fall like tears from heaven.

Anathema spits these humans into a bag
- a messenger bag made of Chinese linen,
so, the humans can breathe in this hot fall weather -
throws the bag upon a broad shoulder
and walks across the bridge to Anathema’s tower
where Anathema takes each of them out,
one by one, holds each
in the palm of Anathema’s hand
and studies their movable limbs;
very doll like, very simple.

Anathema lingers in the moment because
Daddy never let Anathema play with dolls.
(Daddy never let Anathema play with dolls.)
(Daddy never let Anathema play with dolls.) but
daddy is

gone now,

Anathema can play with them all.

Anathema gets a magnifying glass
out of a detective kit purchased from Boys R Us
and thinks about taking the dolls to the rooftop,
you know, to do the old ant under the magnifying glass trick?
That was always fun to do on hot days like this.

But then something happens when

Anathema hovers the glass over,
Anathema notices complexity in their eyes:

(Humans with frightened, bulging
eyes, silently screaming
sclerosis, sclerosis)

Anathema notices the bloodshot
of their eyes
and how the vascular pathways
spread throughout the whites
like a complex network of routes
on a glowing interactive map
and Anathema begins to believe

that Anathema has found the path to
Anathema’s hidden treasure.
©SLW