These lips push apart [1999]

These lips push apart
wish to speak but are stapled together
by common sense
a paper clip lies in that cleft
perfectly parallel
but perpendicular
to the metric
and standard
with China at the end
not my bottle
not my pen caps
not my catalogs
and magazines
not my conversation
outside
hammers beat in arrhythmic cacophany
to the hiss and hum of machines
inside
my feet are sore
my back is bowed
my teeth bite down on my lower lip
wish to speak but are stapled together
breath and swallow
check the clock
check to see that
the stomach is still empty
the wallet is still empty
the mind
and over the din
which fills the silence
a breath
a swallow
and push apart