“the cockroach grind”

by Ben Nardolilli

A communication is what we call 

ourselves when together, 

don’t take it from us unless we invite you,

go join a clique, a gang, or a murder

or be part of something that bleeds

until faces and limbs are lost,

a tribe, a nation, one vast enterprise moving

along to what goes without saying

our game is to get exhausted

going over variations on possibilities, 

it’s no doubt too much for you,

especially if it never leads to a shared bed

Ben Nardolilli currently lives in New York City. His work has appeared in Perigee Magazine, Red Fez, Danse Macabre, The 22 Magazine, Quail Bell Magazine, Elimae, The Northampton Review, Local Train Magazine, The Minetta Review, and Yes Poetry. He blogs at mirrorsponge.blogspot.com and is trying to publish his novels.