oval
im an oval
i carve an oval in the mirror
with the corner
of a bar of soap
and smile at the way
it frames my face
i laugh
and try to draw the sound it makes
upset when the bar of soap
is too dull and bland
to be the color of laughter
delirium
duh
leer
ee
uhm
thats what she called it
this stagger in my step—
thats a funny word stag-errr—
and the hysterical bubble that
sticks in my throat
when i try to
make the words come out
i throw the soap
on the floor
and stag-err to
the bathtub
and hold on to the edge
and hope it can tell me why
the soap-oval doesnt smile
and the laughter wont come back
the porcelain white
doesnt answer me
so i turn on the water
and watch it make little ripples
along the edges
and listen to the sound it makes
the soap cant draw laughter
but the water does
dripdripdrip
hahaha
i cup the water in my hands
and rinse away
the oval in the mirror
because my face
doesnt need a frame
