I blare the music
To ensnare my mind
To spare myself the memory
Of the mayhem you voiced tonight –

Maybe the garroting screams,
Of broken hearts and stolen dreams,
Will asphyxiate the guilt that pervades,
And the words that invade – everything –
And all that they meant.

Maybe the pounding drums,
Will distract me from my pounding heart.
It would be smart to walk away.
Run away.
Sanity frayed, dismayed, sick of being played.

I can’t keep track of the beats.
I’ve lost count, but the song plays on;
Your words as haunting as a funeral dirge,
Urging me to act.
But once I do, I can’t take it back.
Once I’ve laid down the track,
There’s no rewind.

I blare the music
To ensnare my mind
To spare myself the memory
Of the mayhem you voiced tonight.

Jessie Gutierrez