I went to see

a bizarre, fierce thunder

framed by

cinematic flashes of

monkeypeople on bikes

and strobing mushrooms

followed by thumping chuck chucks

and the squelching growls

of tightly coiled wires

bleating out

the rawness

just beneath my skin

wriggling

uncomfortably

at my own strangeness

eager to break

and lay itself open

 

I have been the monkeypeople

attempting to fit in,

ritually tipping my hat

in polite greeting

to disinterested passerbys

and failing to avoid

oncoming traffic

 

I am still a diver suspended

in midair

always waiting

for the water

to rise over my head

and drown me

in my own weird sounds

 

I am in good company