The Night Poem

Lightbulb balls of sweat fall and roll
On pavements, and roads,

Mile upon mile of it:
The Nile, The Nile.

A flash of skin, a gap of clear
Like a cut.

A kind of see-through pus, leaking
Fat air through snake-eyed light

And snake-tongued hiss.
Concave trees touched by searchlight. Naked word.

Naked wind, Cold breath.
It stops -placid- a gash, a stream

And over it, the animal cry
Of wild noise. Blood confetti,

Dish soap hands
Stamped into iridescent stars -

A cut
A cut

You try to drown me out,
But fall flat and clear, onto dead earth.