Vertigo

my head is swaying though it's deadly still
red blood plasma swimming wildly
my brain rotting like miso
around and around
my feet don't touch the ground
the walls swoop sideways
in time to a Satie piano
the pale ceiling darkens
turning upside down
i must be having a stroke
i must have a brain tumor
hormones going berserk
vagina drying
bad breath stale body odor of fungus
graying hair thinning
even eyelashes thinning
but your fat getting fatter
you gotta be kidding
dizzy biological clock ticks to the grave
reproductive function grinds to a halt
fossils of dinosaurs sleeping inside the earth
no more monthly blood
no more monthly mood swings
just permanent depression and deprivation
instinct of species preservation
menopause, people say,
marks a step into a more spiritual stage in life
the best years
the final
best years
but the top of my head is filled with air
and deep down, the fiery hotness,
where the flashes come,
that spot where the root of the umbilical cord
a tiny amputated limb
awaits
inside
makes me masturbate in my bed

After the Storm

the man who raped Miu got arrested
he was following women from the convenience store
his face was there on the security camera
she told her story over and over
until the policewoman cried

Teru and Haruna got married
she wore a red kimono and a giant wig
he got sick and shaved after he lost his job
they are thinking the Grand Canyon for their honeymoon
he has another job now

Mary, executive vice president, has never been married
her mother, who taught her men weren't to be trusted,
died last year of cancer and she met Joe,
a college professor, who holds her hand
they are getting a dog

after the storm
pine needles carpet a silent earth
broken wounds of a ruthless wind
forgetful, still, and all is well
like the ending of a movie