Monaural

"I once thought I had mono for an entire year. It turned out I was just really bored."--Wayne Campbell, Wayne's World

Pass this
        night un-
screwing
                                            wingnuts.
Opened
        casing
showing
                                             my guts.

Fragmented seconds ticking, slipping
through the widening span
                                     of these small hands.
I've unlocked                         my innards
and the truth is out: it's mostly rusting gears.
I've wound down.                 I've ground up
days and weeks, upended months,
spilled crumbs
                         of my years
on pages, aging fast.
The faces show it's late,
                                        so late.

Time's up.
          Trickling
out of
                                        habits
Gutter
           nights are
washing
                                         ashes
Into
                 Yawning
                                              Faces
filled up
                  with questions
                                              falling
from the corners of
their weary, sunburnt eyes.

I'll tick off one more weekend, crossing
panels off a page.
                               Discard a month.
They've opened                    the archives
and the story's old, the golden paper cracks.
The faces,                               blank pages,
rifle past through volumes' deaf--
--'ning greys.
                        Intentions
forgotten, filtered through
the seasons' blurring hum.

                                              It's so late.