As close as my face
to the pillowcase
during dreams
 
but that’s not the same
 
Not in the brain
It is the shadow
of the Jungian field
 
Hollywood gets it all misty
Starlit
yet flickering on You-semi-flaccid-Tube
 
and the Mourning Doves
are no match
for the nightmares
 
the call of eggs
and another bottle
of wine
 
but the hens are at rest
and the grapes
are greedy
 
Dutchtown quiets down
as the blood
sinks into the ground
or washes into the gutters
on Monday mornings
when there is no work
but words
 

another sip
sleep
maybe
lunch
soon
a nibble
 
but never
the whole bite
 
in this
not-in-this-lifetime
sort of daze
malaise

Brett Lars Underwood is a St. Louis poet and promoter of happenings and mishaps. He is the author of MUSH (Spartan Press, 2018) and MUSHARONA (Kung Fu Treachery Press, 2020) and GATEWAY TO MUSH (Spartan Press, 2024). His podcast, HIGH ABOVE GRAND, features interviews with St. Louis poets and can be found on Spotify, YouTube and other major platforms.