ms :: david watts

it was like his nerves
were dipped in pickling vinegar
piecemeal
starting at the periphery and spotting
in between
and it was changing
like a transforming request
a sensory overload
where some impulses make it
some don’t
and that’s the story
of his numbness
except that it felt like oatmeal
drying on the skin
only with oats you can see
where the damage is
they say that stress
could have started it
oh he could buy that story
and have pocket change
left over
while this moth of his nightmare
kept eating at the wool
of his nerve endings