Happy Birthday Poem by Katelyn Hinman

but i saw you today
without the delightful pleasure
of hasty introductions
of trivial formalities
self-righteous hello-nice-to-meets-yous

stretched out upon a bed of soiled sheets
i am a truck-flattened gumby action figure
in a too-big bra and too-tight panties
as the ceiling fan circles soundlessly

you were white in an innocent orbital abyss
another world between my jutting hipbones

stretched out upon a bed of sterile sheets
i am a barren beast: adolf’s great-great-niece
in a tight orange sweatshirt and a stiff paper gown
as the window unit whirs wildly

you were deep crimson truth in unfeeling hands
another world between life and death