Dysfunctional Dreamtime

1. A red helium balloon I float above myself, Watch the ritual unfold: Gather the sharps Lay them out Roll up the sleeves Enfold the world in silence. Then, with infinite concentration, The Not-Me begins: Draw the lines Open the flesh Let out the hot red Pain and Poison; Inscribe another testament To survival. Then the balloon drifts down Sleeves roll down The Not-Me steps into the balloon And floats away, And I become myself again, Purged and Whole Until the next time. 2. A wraith, I live on air Insubstantial as the Winter's mists. I am colorless Blank as perfect ice, as cloudless sky Yet I command all appetites, Control my ghostly shape Against all outside assault. My Will is wind, Invisible and Absolute. A reed, I bend but never break. I may be fading, fading... But the steel rod within the mist Shines true and will not yield. 3. Peel back the flesh The flowing flesh, And see the Void within. I am large but I am empty, Hollow as a gourd, a husk. Tear me and the taut surface Will collapse upon itself. I hunger, ever hunger For the things that fill others up To keep them satisfied. And so I eat. I eat Love, Acceptance, Self-Confidence. I eat Hate, Loneliness, Rejection. Ultimately, I consume myself. After all, Who else could stomach The taste of me?