The clank of faux
pearl snaps on sleeve cuffs
against table top formica,
a message seeps

through wine patches
in the shirt plaid—
not long now, this leg
is coming

to an end. Time
to leave lipstick on another
mug and pull a black velvet coat
over shoulders before breezes

become extinct
for eight more, gusts
take over the glorious
hurl forward.