how many times i've dragged from home

by Derek Smith

how many times i've dragged from home.
how many times have i dragged from home?
i nagged the fertile undertow;
the maze the magic tortoise drove
further and further into the ocean
to make a dream in the sharp reflecting teeth
of the smiling evil stone.
sharp as shells,
never alive.
the boring menace of a thousand lives mis-spent.
please the keepers, if you dare:
the meniscus never breaks,
and the swimming swine are not aware.
the ocean boils slowly,
and the smoke mistakes you for itself.