smart boards lit with variables
that slip from one side of the equation
to the other, sans warning
the redolence of spike lavender
tangerine, rosemary oils dripped
onto the diffuser and plugged-in
effervescence reminiscent of outdoors
within reach, the way fingerless gloves
ameliorate the ride to school
tiny buddha statuaries held
captive in tiny ziplock bags
our personal trigger fingers, turgid
neurogenic memories disrupt
dinner table conflict as the latest
admonishment puts everyone en garde
historic slurps or the grate-and-isolate
of echolalia prove some point while
we collect unconscious vestiges
wax encrusted candelabras and myriad
lamentations, the claw marks of a gassed
generation, the prostate of a survivor
haunted, we cannot fathom our distinct
despair until after the downward spiral
in pink flannel pj’s to purple velvet solace
in the blue-light-blink of wireless speakers
the sympathetic nervous system’s disorderly
conduct, our contiguous traumas unravel
a dimmed amber light beckons the comfort
zone of sorrow, the welcome back of a Yoda
bandaid perched like hope on Pandora’s wrist
