Listening Very Hard

I seem to have forgotten
my ribs at home
tonight;
my chest
is apparently
soft luggage
holding
an unprotected heart
swimming in red air.

To inhale
is to slice myself
from within
but since I must breathe
I force myself to do it
through my nose
by smiling hard
with my jaws locked.
You can count my teeth
even when my lips are
closed. 

Go ahead
and do it now
for they may be gone
soon, tumbling back
through my throat
to gash me further
as I doubt my gums
can hold them
for very long.

I’ve never felt
so rotted, so
superfluous,
such a corpse
to be kicked
for amusement;
so ashamed
to be caught
decomposing
in public
when I’m
expected to be
listening very hard
and applauding
what’s being said.