That's Just Insipid!

a second draft

Rejuvenate

While there are leaves enough,
draining their bodies into the damp
carpet made tawny, while the air
is fragrant with decay,
I’ll walk into the woods
on an autumn road,
and let its shadows eat me.

And while there are leaves alongside
an acre of my flesh, I’ll spill bagfuls of tenderness
and feel a mother’s warmth against the chill,
feeding an open belly to the chocolate soil.

A shameless boy finds my crumpled shell,
flagged in the undergrowth like a sullen plastic wrapper.
He runs naked to his bicycle,
kickstand dug into the sticks,
late for cookies tonight,
and late for storybooks
with the same character men and character women
as all nights prior, with an imp and a wimp
and a reason to cry. With a challenge and a friend,
and journey to its end. With a road
and a rock, and a time to forget. And
there is a venom in memory.