breath message )bareback)

he just wound up in some sort of factory  and i found him there  perspiring beneath all of the )rusted equipment)  sweat pouring from his body his breath holding some kind of message )he broke open like a fortune cookie)   he let me take a look at the inside parts  )raw and alive) they hadn't yet been inspected  he pretended to be certified

i could only bathe him at night  i let most of the sores heal over  until i found new skin underneath  and then i dressed him up in linen )i wanted a proper boy)  i wanted to rattle on about the relics that everyone else was still searching for )he liked his steak rare)  he hunted out the beautiful waiters)  he trained them like mice) )he wept after dark)

i rambled around in the blackness  searching for blankets and heaters  i was the only feeder i wanted to go to the zoo  )i still do)

in the dawnlight   he still worked  like an animal  but all the rusty equipment had since moved )far away)  )we were wealthy)  )we lived in the suburbs) i found all of the clothing  i took out the torches and burned  everything on the front porch )it wasn't salem) but i've seen witch-hunts and i always knew the respectable thing to do )i still do) i cracked all of the lanterns and let them shine in the dark  creating napoleon comedies that still hold up in court today  )i felt pretty good about myself) but i didn't sweat

i forgot about the dinners  )he lived outside in the gazebo) i sat alone in the coldhouse  and read poetry )aloud) i played the dramatic parts well  and tended to crocuses and )gorgeous violence) he left one gray afternoon  )long after all the fortune cookies) were ruined and used  )left some kind of bottle  with some kind) of blurry message inside   something about  wrappers and horseback )he always went bareback)   i never did understand that

(i still can't)

Jason Davidson is a poet, fiction writer, playwright and performer. He’s written, directed and produced over 200 works of experimental theatre and his one-act plays have been widely published. His poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in trampset, Hobart, Club Plum, Pine Hills Review, HAD, SoFloPoJo, Burningword, Heavy Feather Review, Stone of Madness, Luna Luna, Troublemaker Firestarter, Does It Have Pockets and other journals. Jason lives on California's Central Coast with his husband. Find him on Instagram at @jasonwriteswords.