Nerves are flesh violins / ballet trees / I refuse to dance for aristo-
crats / My lust is Russian / I’m mad like an eye in the brain / my nerves are trained / electric, lunatic in moonlight / my hand dances solo / jolts in my limbs / commanding my jumps / my skull bones mock me / my hair is moving, for I feel it / my child fears me / Zurich’s nerve specialist / can’t cure / the world of war / I’m burning, down on all fours / When still young / my graduation / unnerved me / to feel free / to be let out

Originally published in White Wall Review 40 (2016)