licorice beetle

the timer goes off & so we have to go
to knock down the house.
we bought candy by the pound.
gummy chicken's feet
& dead angels in little plastic bags.
i once got a phone call
from someone desperate to speak
to a lover. i had to say,
"i'm sorry this is not 
who you are looking for."
my father & i were black licorice collectors.
we took pride in devouring it
when everyone else was saying,
"how can you eat that?" the roots
grow through the ceiling 
& try to pluck out my teeth.
i just hand them over. i am a shark.
they will grow back. i hate when
people talk about manifesting
as if it's not boring witchcraft.
come on, let's light something on fire.
let's eat licorice until
our teeth are green. once 
the candy draw was covered
in bugs. my father removed 
our sweets like he were saving children
from a collapsing star. 
i reached in to a bag
to pull out a piece of licorice
& instead i held a smooth black beetle.
closed my eyes. put the licorice
in my mouth. there were 
no beetles of course. we were just
sharing a paranoia. he held me
& asked, "you saw them too right?"
i did. i saw all of them. the television
turns on by itself to an infomercial 
about bibles. the doorbell rings
& my father sends me to get it.
i feel like i am always the gravedigger
& never the body. he saves
the last piece for me. it crawls
all over my hand before
it lets me eat it.