A Sun without Life

Clipping wings. Slashing tires.
Nicking the Achilles tendon.
Or that science project of growing pea plants or flowers in a dark closet.
Docking tails. Ears splinted to heal vertically.
Penny on the traintracks.
Gastic bypass. IVF. Veal.

Variable cruelty, Unnatural pleasure.
What looks beautiful. What looks good.
A man's obsession with "Clean" and "Pure"
A woman's love of imagined danger and passion.
The ultimate yin and yank.

The desk faces the wall. The wall is without windows. The thin carpet was multicolored at one time, is now gray. The irony of the desktop. Was once wood, then was wood chips. Then was sawdust, then was congealed into particle board. Now covered with a decorative laminate of stained wood grain finish.

The irony of a student who was once a youth. Then was disillusioned, then bored, then exhausted. Was cut down in the prime of a promised career. Now is resigned at 24... Now wears a decorative air of respect, packed in preservatives.