(hit the play button and watch my film aposiopesis above)

beyond salvation

electra 

paid

bathed in green light

straddles arms akimbo

the fat man

working furiously 

on himself

no closer to heaven 

or beyond salvation

than he was this morning in

the confessional

what price redemption?

electra

bored

thinks of johnny

his name indelible on her

pendulous breast —

the      y      truncated by

stretch marks

in the dank corner

among the roaches

electra’s son

eats leaded paint flakes

tethered 

beyond salvation

“Forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable.  Habit will sustain you whether you’re inspired or not.  Habit will help you finish and polish your stories.  Inspiration won’t.  Habit is persistence in practice.”  

— Octavia Butler