you say I need to keep
my head on
straight
if you're going to find
the unconditional self

so I spend hours
in front of
the mirror measuring
the exact position necessary
to keep my head straight

but when I step outside
I remember
I have forgotten
about wind resistance

as the wind blows against
my face like every mouth
collectively in the world

my head lifts off
my shoulders
and tumbles
into the creek
like a volleyball
bobbing up and down
bloodying my nose
on passed boulders
slitting my eyelids on twigs

drifting out of range
of my body's reach

it is then I grow weary
and my body slumps
down headless
beside the creek
the sun pouring
against my back

that yellow jackets
begin swarming
my gaping neck
filling my insides
with yellow jackets
overflowing with
yellow jackets
and building
a new face
and head
from yellow jackets

the new language
of my brains
blood
heart and tongue

a hive of my head
where yellow
jackets
using powerful
mandibles capture
and consume all doubt

foraging for food
fornicating
to nourish my
wayward stays

where weathered
and dead
brains
are completely enclosed

except for a small opening
at the bottom
devised for expansion