222 and parade

222

for chariot

presence is the first form of devotion

how else to litigate the breadth 
of what adores you

telepathy revives our asylum 
reveals whose turn it is
to be the wonder
of the other

in this tiny electronic mess
i get to be only a racing heart 
when the rest forfeits movement

all night i dream us blessed

it renders my worship
the highest biological assembly

a cool militant echo    resetting

parade

don’t tell me i’m a good person

who would redeem a binary 
impossible as that

few can even help
the mannequin of their affect
and abiding procedure is a limitless chore

i understand

when i’m done pretending too 
i play dead

always hiding in the bathroom 
talking superstructure
hurling at the lid

my mind the obstinate function 
of its own endurance

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Ivanna Baranova writes and is the author of CONFIRMATION BIAS (Metatron Press, 2019).