starving artist drunk on words and self-imposed misery,
strung out like saltwater taffy
and draped over the arm of a cushion
to dry.
cardboard sign rests on the wall,
reading five different phrases
that could never be said.

laid there and muttered with a
wineglass of milk resting on sore-thumb ribs,
i'm a jealous prick, you know.
said,
i'm so jealous, i bleed green;
jealous enough, i have bits of my own heart
stuck between my teeth.
i'm so jaundiced, i envy my own heartbreak,
covet your lost job,
wish i could sink as low as the moon in the morning.

starving artist slings back spine
and oozes into the chair.
falls over skin and spills milk on
the carpet.

starving artist cries-
bones jump with every sob;
says,
i'm a jealous prick, you know.
i'm so jealous, i'm crying because the milk
could spill, and all i can do is cry.