EXPERIENCE OF DARKNESS ONLY IN BED ❋ Jonathan Aprea

He is guided by the jaw in his body
whether it whistles, or is clenched,
or is poised in anticipation of speaking.
During the day he walks slowly,
conducting his force into the ground
with a purpose to satisfy the jaw’s need
for certainty and composure.
At night in bed, mediating the interval
between awareness and sleep, he places
his hand over the jaw, outlining its lips
with the detached motion of his hand,
laying his hand’s palm against the angle
of its bone, pretending to himself
it is a person, or sometimes a young child,
anything whose eyes he can find
and then plead with for control.