lolita in the backseat

lolita in the backseat
so still
if you don't look, you almost forget she's there
taciturn by choice
i am not sure she has a voice at all.
shield those eyes, lollipop, because they are everywhere.
impossible to tell, really,
which are just shadows in the brake light
and which are the true forms to fear.
what we need here is an
amplification of muffled sobs
a new leaf
what we fear here
is here
what we need here
is a slow crawl to some
redemption altar alternative
where we bloody up in
sacrifice and stumble
away with the weight of freedom
on our breath.
what we need here
is public profession
and a community of watchers.
what we need here is
fear here is
here it is

time to learn a life of unlearning
stretching out in fake yawns--
so bored. so eager.
eternal youth strapped in and
aided by blind drivers.

even the syllables smolder.
we make symbols out of people
and we choose not to use our words.
some other art in the backseat and silent.

what we have here is a failure to