I'm a poet with a chainsaw
which means I don't have one
all I have are these cheap plastic flowers
which I also don't have.
fortunately this is not a hospital
or if it is, it is well disguised.
let's go, says the doctor
I have need of your chainsaw
even if imaginary because
wow, is it raining so hard now
so we cut the parking lot
into individual serving-size
slices, and pass them around
among the faithful
we can tell who the faithful are
easily: they have no chainsaws
and their heads are bowed down
like the cheap plastic flowers
or like real ones, after
a hard rain.
Kyla Houbolt (she, her) occupies Catawba territory in Gastonia, NC. Her first two chapbooks, Dawn's Fool and Tuned were published in 2020. More about them on her website, https://www.kylahoubolt.com/ Her individually published pieces online can be found on her Linktree. She is on Twitter @luaz_poet.