Piece of Night

By Trudy Chan

i shirk
when others wake
to rush into my day

like a tortoise
who has forded eternity
with another term to pity

redress
my liquid shards
down like rolling metal guards

tightlyrightly
a chastity belt for their innocence
liquid truth daunt and taunt my defense

if i were to tell
and stain the sky with penance
and perform a pluvial rain dance

the wet
is troubling me threatening me spinning flinging marinated pearls of me
my secrets which others snatch into leering eyes like hungryhungryhippos

mercy shakes her head while i cry at the sky
now they, the others, watch my heart falter like sonar. to them i have
changed. to them my facade has washed away clear as a window slick. to
them i am vulnerable to crumble.

i wish the night a swift rousing
and they will match the day with covers in dark
i am already stripped, wait for the stars to swathe me in dust

truce
holds me in with unstable arms
before my conscience does me harm