tv disturbing static

I dreamt I was taken hostage at gunpoint

by a man who stuck his tongue in my mouth

                                                                    stop

the fireflies were out last night, and you were one of them

damp crevices of the mind

combusted irreversibly

became blacker with each thought

overnight, my atoms rearranged themselves

ruminated and grew

silent screams underneath my skin 

no unburning, no way out

in the end

which was really the middle

the black water receded

help came from pills and talk

I turned my head so I didn’t have to witness

                                                                   quivered

could they tell the place was haunted?

the fireflies looked back, emitting their light

^{Footnote: this poem was created using the Spines or Cut-ups constraint as the starting point.}