light up my body like an EXIT sign--

i raise my hand when they
tell you locate the exits in the theater--
neon, red, & shouting--
my skin is made a siren--
people ask me how i came to 
this & i tell them
that some of us are born
entering a room 
& others are born leaving it-- 
i'm also in the process of departing--
you can walk out through me--
bend the door knobs of my shoulders
& push
me open-- there is always a stair case
to fall down if you're not
careful or if you're looking for the
sensation of flight--
no i don't know where i'm leaving
for-- the destination was never
the point of the exit--
hold my hand &
lock the door behind you--
hail the permanency
of the click of the back door
of my spine--
transverse the skin stretched
across each rib--
i try to wash the neon out of 
my freckles--
i glow when it's dark &
everyone finds me with their
suicide letters written in crayon
on napkins--
i know they're only looking for
a way out &
i happen to glow above
a door frame--
invite me inside-- i'm the inversion
of a vampire &
i'm asking you if you want to leave--
i eat nightlights with
my fingers and sometimes
a plastic fork--
there's no where left 
to go in a room this
dark other than outside--
if you that's where i'm leading you--
don't be scared--
it's better to walk out together--
this is the arch--
i can be your two by two--
no we don't have to 
be the same species-- i've
opened my lips
to swallow lovers & diplomats &
women who collection
too many ceramic statues--
we all have space for another 
back door--
we all wanted a way out
& then you got me--
bright red light to brand 
my name in the cool
flesh of the wall--
i prefer that you think of
me as a process of departing--
vacating-- turning
a door knob like the winding up
of a pocket watch--
instead of the fixed blare of
lights they chose to 
demarcate my body--
to separate me from the rest of
you who call me EXIT--
i raise my hand in the dark of
the theater.