Chris Butler - Two Poems

Wash away…

 

bathe in flame,

sponge with

rubbing alcohol

to expunge oily

filth from this

porous epidermis,

as the shower’s

steam overheats

kinetically with

the groggy fog,

until my chattering

teeth are ground

down by hypothermia,

only awaking from

an induced coma,

where evident frozen

breaths of death

escape cuffed lungs

in a tub overflowing

with ice.

Negative Pronoun

 

My preference

is to be

referred to as

“It,”

like an inanimate

object with no soul

 

because it’s better

than the solitary

designated to

“They” or “Them.”

 

As for me,

the pronouns

“He” or “She,”

spoken without

an ounce of

negative intent

to non-binaries

is their hate speech,

 

because the

English language Nazis

force feed my words

out of my mouth and

down your throat.

 

 

"Anti"Chris Butler is an illiterate poet scribbling gibberish that sounds a lot like English. His 11th and latest chapbook, "DOOMER", was just recently published by Ethel, and is available for sale along with t-shirts in the back (https://www.ethelzine.com/shop/doomer-by-chris-butler). He is also the co-editor of The Beatnik Cowboy literary journal.