The Endarkenment

Zugzwang

15 Zugzwang you are a locked car door closing you are the key forgotten in the ignition i am the person banging on the window i am the fog on the glass you are a wild dog limping up a highway embankment you are a cactus with human fingertips you are a tall tree with a scarf wrapped around one of the branches you are a scuba diver looking down at his watch and realizing you don’t have enough air to make it back to the surface so you live down there with the spare tires and the other things we do without you are the loch ness monster it’s been so long since you surfaced no one believes you exist anymore you are a submarine that has lost its power you watch television through a periscope you are a permanent bathrobe you are a cow poking her head through a barbed wire fence you are a gambler an hour after squandering the rent you are going over niagara falls in a giant pill bottle you have a bruised throttle you are a road trip that’s gone awry you are a bird that stands on a railing rubbing your wings together then you climb back down and you call that a try 16 you are a piece of chewing gum stuck on the back of a mirror you are a bag of melted ice on a ballerina’s ankle you are a camel with a straw sticking out of your hump in your mind you climb onto the ledge and you jump, you jump, you jump * ...