things that irritate
hand not obeying brain
handwritten letters uglier than imagined
small patch of raw, presumably red skin on my septum
the first scratch on a shiny new thing
the first grey hair
trails of water running up my arms, somehow defying gravity
little pill split not quite exactly in half
hair with little breaks and splits
hair long enough to tie back
the pointy bones of my hips against my mattress at night
for no mattress is firm enough, no mattress is soft enough
desperate attempts to woo sleep even as exhaustion tears at my flesh
tiny bumps on my upper arms where fine hairs are trapped and twisted
a fraction of seed buried in a tooth’s crevices
a whole seed wedged in between teeth
prickle of sweat germinating and bursting forth
sitting with our thighs touching
scanning my body for ticks
a whiff of raw asafoetida every time I descend the first steps to our basement
a gloriously sunny peach that crumbles in the mouth at first bite
the glazed look of eyes fixed to a screen
the squeak of chalk against skin
the rude bite of raw onion
the slug brain of morning
the zombie reach and slide for snooze