jaws

the sound of people chewing
make my skin crawl
the swish of saliva
the absent-minding crunching

awakens some primal
reservoir of fury
sending impulses to the
reflexes of
my fists
squeezing tightly
shut

perhaps i was swallowed
in my last life
and the sound of
chewing was the last
thing i heard before
being eroded away
in a sea of acid
and other delicacies

that would explain
why affections often
taste like ravenous wolves
and love feels like
farmer's-wife fingers
around my chicken
throat

I suppose
when your blood cells were
born out of gasping
and swallowing
it should come as
no wonder that the
sound of teeth
makes you into
fists and clenched
jaws

12/25/17