my brother turns 20 & i put on a dragon suit 

i'm in the back yard wearing a dragon suit
made out of whatever dragons are made of:
aluminum foil & rust. it's someone's
birthday & i know this only because the sky
in ripe & emerald-- ready to be eaten.
i too feel ready to be eaten. what kind of food
do you eat when you want to feel 
made of sugar? there are sculptures 
of dragons all along the roof of a mouth.
the kids are the size of jupiter beetles.
the kids are running & unstoppable. what is a 
dragon to do? i could eat them yes
but humans taste like mint. the truth is
i'm only ten years old & the green is laughing
at me all around for being so young 
& so wary of grease & bruises. i'm hear 
to be fought. the children shout
kill the dragon & brandish their guns.
point blank. the parents don't want there 
to be any chance the birthday boy misses.
i have bullet shells for teeth. i have a brother
turning three years younger than me.
nothing haws ever been auto-biographical
after all i'm a dragon not a brother.
will they chew shreds of the metal?
will they cut their mouths?
yes it is true it's just a suit but 
i can feel the dragons when i wear it--
i can fell their thrashing & their
need to cut clouds in half with scissors.
the truth is no one should ever have to grow up.
i breathe fire & by fire i mean i breathe 
knots of hair. i lay on my back & wait
for my brother to be as old as me &
me to be as old as him-- no i mean 
for me to be older & older & older.
i walk outside in the dragon suit & i tell strangers 
that it is someone's birthday. none of them
give me presents because everyone is selfish
or maybe someone they know's birthday is today too.
sometimes when i dress up like a dragon i believe
it might be better this way. i could
eat the voices of crowds. i could live under the tree
in the back yard & wait for it to turn to icing.
autumn is snapping its fingers in my throat.
i am cold & wrapped in metal. i chained myself
to the dirt for authenticity. the children
are smacking the daytime moon 
for candy. i hope they 
feed me some.