Eyelash Armor

I count my eye lashes every night and morning
to ensure they're all still there.
Google claims I'll lose three to five a day,
but I've got none to spare.

They will not succumb to nature.
I will not permit it.

Every day I take a tally,
stroking every trifling fiber
of every soft black strand.
I'm not used to losing things,
and I refuse to lose
my eyelash armor,
when I'm already losing you.

And as my pinkies graze
the shields around my eyes,
I am comforted.
I am indestructible.

They will not
tear off
wear out
fly
flee
float
bolt
die--

I will not allow it.

Every day I count my eye lashes
to be certain
they've not got away.
I hold my breath and only hope
for 200 goodbyes I'll never need to say.

Every day I count my eye lashes
I shake in fear
'cause I see ghosts around my eyes.

wheels

it is 10 p.m.,
and the car-less road invites me
to become a vehicle
and to teach my feet to spin.

i will walk here for some time,
dodging thoughts
and shifting gears
until i tire.

but roads are made for wheels,
not people,
and how long might feet rotate, anyway?
wheels, i know they'll come
eventually,
and my feet won't stand a chance.

and my ankles turn to antifreeze,
as my motor calmly hums
a lullaby my mom would once recite:
"goodnight, sleep tight," it murmurs.
"don't let the bedbugs bite."

"do everything that's right,"
the motor moans, and,
"pleasant dreams," it sighs.
but pleasant dreams run silent
as i tie the tongues of thought,
and succumb to the night sky.

and i am tempted
to park myself right here
sprawl on asphalt
and lose myself in stars--

or headlights?

the wheels are coming,
and i am not afraid.

no, i am not afraid of broken glass,
just that it will shatter without sound.
no, i am unafraid of skid marks,
i am content lazing on the ground.

the wheels are coming.
my feet cannot compete,
and do not want to.

the wheels are coming,
let them come.

i simply do not feel like going.

for the sky is glowing, the air is clear.
let them come,
'cause on a night as fair as this,
i haven't any fear.

that is why
empty roads are deadly,
more deadly than a cairo highway.

that is why
we will end up in a junkyard,
or, possibly a graveyard.

because roads are made for wheels,
not people,
and i know wheels will come eventually.