Russel Swensen

ECT

 

They say they will pump electricity though my mind

like light

 

through the wings of a butterfly     where it hides

somewhere behind my eyes.

Russel Swensen

Insomnia

 

I dream that a rabbit is torturing me.

His ears are flaxen, flop.

He’s the color of an Asian pear.

He’s opened me up with a pair of scissors.

He hates all the red oatmeal in me.

I hate it too.

The rabbit used to be my friend.

I know this in the dream

because he tells me.

This is your own fault, he reminds me.

His heart is turning into a pearl.

It’s what happens

when you drown a rabbit. You sure

thought you were clever, the rabbit

snarls.