Seventy Seconds

By Chetna Jivan

I pissed beneath a waning tree,
pale moonlight sieved through the parched leaves –
Drunk as I was,
I still saw the landscape around me –
all alone in this cold, empty wilderness.

I knew not where my carriage was,
or where my silk stocking was.

In my slight slumber,
I imagined Jupiter,
dangling from the sky...
Kissing me goodnight –
winking at me with it’s red eye.

Fireflies everywhere,
crying out for life,
flickering lights.

A vulture rested upon a branch,
glaring at me.
Oh my God! Could that be Lucifer himself?
would the fucker peck at my fleshy limbs –
What a feast that would be...
a bloody massacre,
right here, right now,
under the tree with parched leaves.
Show no fear;
I told myself.
show no fear and I might survive.
How I wish my lost bride was by my side,
settled on my thigh.

Let the ghosts see me –
A lonely man creating the perfect arch of piss.
That’s my true identity now.

A lost, lonely, drunk and stoned idiot,
who just finished pissing in nothing short of seventy seconds.