Eat myself

round the head
of your pets
If you don't
these mindless creatures
unaware of what's good for them
will lick the wound
and lick
and lick
until the stitches are gone
until it bleeds
until it gets infected
until its dead

My flavour of the month
is a psoriasis scab
on my scalp
on my crown
which hasn't healed for
a month

It doesn't flake dandruff
because
I've picked it bloody
no new skin has healed
to produce dried skin
to flake
and rain
like snow
on this human
holocaust

I scratch whenever
wherever
like a dog
I have no shame

The head picking
is new.
My ongoing vice
bad habit
nervous condition
unendearing imperfection
are cuticles

When I was ten
a friend
ate a scab
from a skinned knee
told me to
try
mine

Later
in private
I did

I didn't
right then
because
I was better than him
white trash
never be nothing
loser

Now I'm worse.
I gnaw my
fingers
compulsively
i wear bandaids on all fingers
to stop myself
from chewing
and looking
like
someone
raised wrong
like
I have leprosy

Without the bandaids
to stop me
I'll pry at the skin
with fingernails
pry
until
there's skin to
bite
I'm worse than a maggot
I eat
living
flesh

Before I'm done
my fingers will bleed
it ain't no
summer
of 69

My new crutch
is my crown
there's bandaids on
my fingers
but blood
under
my fingernails

Worse than a maggot
Worse than trash
None of my imperfections
endearing
unless you're reading this
when reading this
has become cool

Then it's OK
because a famous artist
did it
like alcoholism
like imprisonment
like anti socialism
like vomiting in public
like not shaving
not washing
not caring
about the people
in his life
because
selfishness
is common
to all
success