academic fright!

someone was here
the crinkle of light through blinds and curtains sends the message
an SOS of a need for attention, a need for well-intended hugs
for the ability to speak and be spoken to
without words or committees on indiscretion

in addition, please note
the unmade bed, the litter on the floor (it's the kind i do not purchase,
ammonia-ridden pellets), the litter of alcohol,
strawberries, and bread-crumbs, the combined odor of which
thaws the air, cuts open my sense of optimism,
and leaves the beatiful, jeweled organs on the floor

how they sparkle!
the red-frozen innards that i was hiding, my own self-doubt
my carefully scripted organization of towels, fruit, and long-gutted dreams
they stare at me from the fur-coated carpet, my cat displaying himself
licking his sins away, while i sit here
gloating in a sadness that disappears
as the currents of air conditioning are turned off, leaving only the room
the person, the feline, the evening coming on,
and the fading silhouette of someone being here