Empiricist

Empty room
Cast about for a familiar object
Because my body needs coordinates to move
In the dark
Range of motion shrivels all around me
All my nightmares I am slowly being cocooned
A single calf in the hecatomb
Crescent moon
Hollowed out of all my fabled insides
Occam shave me down to primal truth
Return me to the womb

Mother pulled from father’s ribs, little baby in a crib, hands reaching up
Before the blinding light is split
Through the prism of your organs into colors
All that being and nothingness, on the same möbius strip
Sleep and waking up

On the first day
Wipe the blank slate
And you join the banquet
Served up helpless on a plate
You find your land legs
And you learn to imitate
You’ll wear any feathers
And hope that your efforts attract a mate
One day your children find you,
Locked in the bathroom,
Staring in horror at the reflection of your face
You say you're sorry to the guests at your party
But you can't help wonder, who is this person you celebrate?

And so the light fades
It’s still your birthday
Blow out your past lives like they're candles on the cake