Spit (A Poem)

I spit the words
It feels venomous
Missing pieces
Like stolen chunks
The burning holes

I spit the words
To avoid the bitter backwash
Of your citrus aftertaste
It gives me heartburn

I spit the words
Onto sidewalks
Street corners
Where I would be, too
But for the grace of god

I spit the words
Revolted
I am
Revolted
By the way they taste
The way they sound
When I swallow them
That sickening noise
When they hit my empty stomach
Makes me

Spit the words
To keep them
Down low
On that filthy ground
Where they came from

I spit the words
To keep them
From coming back up
It didn't taste so good
The first time

I spit the words
Into metaphors
Into microphones
Into poetry

Like building people
Out of clay
My salivation
Is my salvation
Because I build
My poetry
From spit

Regardless of
How venomous
My raw material may be
I must first taste it
Before I can reject it

Before I can spit it
But I do

Spit

It

Out

Because I would never swallow that shit
You don't know where it's been

Rinse and repeat
Rinse and repeat
Get the taste out

Rinse and replace
The acid citrus
With sweet wintergreen


©2010 ~strawberry-goodness