Take a suppressed swig
Of this temptation
Why say no
To a thoughtful revelation?
I have come here to speak
To roll candy words off rotten tongues
Melt sighs in small crowds
Shed skin
Sweep the dust into the corners
And keep the center of the room clean
I have not come to see these uncovered faces
But to study the masks
Peeled off
Strewn about the floor
Because those plastic outlines
Are all I have ever known
Stuck to pores
Glued to body parts
Lingering like phantoms in the presence of raw love
I have come to tilt chins
Cock heads
Lower eyes
Unearth smiles and damp humor
Beat a drum with tattered edges
And a hollow tune
I have come, not to perfect, but to accept the imperfections