One.
No screens two hours before bed
You need eight hours, or hollows
Dark and sallow like shallow graves
Will appear below your eyes.
Exhausted is another word for
Used up.
Two.
Herbal tea, stay hydrated or you’ll
Look desiccated, vellum skin thin
Brittle, crow’s feet grasping at lost
Youth like long spindly fingers on
An old crone, your future. To age
is to succumb. Do not succumb.
Three.
Moisturize, moisturize, moisture
Pouring from your eyes, catch it
On your tongue, let none escape.
Should tears keep falling, fetch
Ice tray and freeze them, apply
to turgid tear ducts and think of
the last time you rejoiced in the
warmth of sun on your skin.
Four.
Kneel before Aphrodite, atone
For the failings of your frail
Feminine form. Acquire
Ambergris, birch bark, shed
Skin of snake, and blood of
Young ewe. Mash to a pulp
In mortar and pestle. Apply
As mask, undress, go outdoors.
Laugh when they say you’re
Too much.
Five.
Ignore one. Get your phone.
Go online. Place order. Breathe
Deeply, salvation is coming via
USPS. Close eyes. Can’t sleep.
Toss and turn. Heart pounding
like orgasm. Use restlessness;
Build a pyre.
Six.
Tear open package with reckless
Abandon, unsheathe syringe,
pierce vial, pierce flesh, pierced
navel expands as two tiny hands
reach out from the depths, rip
you apart at the waist, she’s
crowning, she’s here! Throw
old flesh on the fire.
Dance as you burn.