Someone Else's Memory Poem by Matt Render

No, please, don't.
this is exactly how it was supposed to go
Dry drunk and stuck
to that dark spot on the floor
That very same spot
you know the one
Ashen and raw
Like a dog inside a laundry room
And a bride without a groom
Sticking to the walls
Like blood and fungus
A lover's touches
Dry saliva drippings
Right where you left
Your vibrator and handcuffs
The circus mask
A drill bit and a piston
A belt sander and a sentimental whisper
Birthday cake frosting
Used for Astro glide
With a water pistol to the mouth
The lingerie with the holes
Caked with stains
Eyes fixed on the door
Wider than an owl's
Wider than its prey
Dead as you've ever seen


The older I get
the less I know
I watched the worm eat the bird
Savouring every bite
The sheep stalking the wolf
Long into the night
The cheese found the rat
And the poison it was wrapped in
Like a butterfly in your glove
That you never released
The sweet crunch of leaves
And it's trembling wings
Beneath your feet
as you're leaving
We all live inside
Someone else's memory.
And that's where we die