i will set you on fire

i dreamed i had to put my name on all the things that belonged to me
so i didn't lose them.
good morning i said.
it was like when you're a kid going to school. or how in kindergarten
all the objects are labeled. but it wasn't. it had nothing to do with that.
it wasn't like cattle branding
and it wasn't like oh i don't know. it just feels like it's slipping away.
we sat there and waited for it to pass.
i will set you on fire, i thought.
i will cover you in very cold water while you are showering.
i will hold you in a way that makes it difficult to move.
i will bathe you in milk and honey for i hear that they are comforting.
i will send you all of this in a note
that i will never write down.
what are you thinking she said.
i didn't know what to say. i thought about nothing at all.
nothing i said. i am not thinking about anything.
a mouse trap closed. i went for the sandwich bags.
the feeling of an empty word bubble
worked its way up the back of my skull
and to the front.