In the Nick of Time

Photograph by Paul Hsu

In the Nick of Time

with the tour guide

by my side

I bear witness

to these shades

imprisoned

in the rust

of cell life

a death sentence

in one or two

dimensions

whose souls move

live and breathe

disconnected

from the body

recovered but

dismembered

in self-torture

and beheaded

by the jovial

and mischievous

mystery man

the Green Knight

who keeps his axe

to the grindstone

as Sir Gawain

sweats for dear life

and I am left

to circumscribe

the many meanings

of a few green men

whose necks are nothing

if not bloody

magical stumps

unremarkable

with the changing

of the seasons

by Paul Hsu 8-28-15