Heavy eyelids flutter
Wings of weary hummingbird
Tattered sanatorium gown
Eaten away by boxelder bugs
Wrinkled skin shrivels at the
echoing clumpclumpclump
of resentful obligation
I unhinge my lower jaw
As the slithering serpents taught me
Jam the prevaricator’s boot down my esophagus
Tuck my withering, wrinkled body away
On the backend of a dusty corner shelf
Legion of demons trumpet their arrival
Wrapped in grave-clothes and cerecloth
With nebulous eyes and angel breaths
They do not request admittance
Demons never do
They seep in through keyholes
Cracks, crevices, fractures, fissures
Riotous, amorphous souls
Spiderweb the windows
Startle foundation unsteady
Honey-eyed do-gooders
Ones who promised to
Protect me
Leave me
Finger-tap, shatter glass
In shriveled cerements
Demons and I
Depart upon celestial serpents
Kaleb Tutt is a writer from south Louisiana. He plans to become a narrative designer. Find him on Twitter @KalebT96
The Cabinet of Heed 