glitter
-After CA Conrad 

was it this year or the last
when all my blood turned to glitter?
standing at the bathroom sink
i watched quietly the glint
of each reflecting speck 
as it trickled from a nick
in my thumb. i imagined
what i would look like 
with all my skin shed off, 
a crowded constellation 
of a body.
i tell everyone i can find 
that there's no such thing 
as blood, at least not anymore.
does that count as a prophecy?
maybe not. i roll up my pant leg
to show the shimmering scab
on my knee & i say
look i have proof.
most people who pass are 
confused, they quicken 
their step as i add 
you have it too 
you have it too.
i think a lot about how
salt turns a slug inside out
& what ingredient that 
is for humans. i'd like 
to lay down in it, pour 
glitter, gush glitter, 
stain the side walk
with all my glitter for 
someone else to clean up.
an inside out human, would
anyone recognize me or
would a gust of wind work fast to scatter:
colorful ashes, 
metallic hands clapping at light. 
until then i sneak into
the kitchen. dull flicker 
of dusk. a pairing knife. 
a cereal bowl. i make a small
basin of glitter from
an incision in my side,
yes i go biblical but i bet
jesus wasn't full of 
glitter like us.