like a ton of bricks

jolie prather
like a ton of tricks
turned in a single night

on a dirty roll of dimes
and a single sopping mattress

pressed between
four thin walls

and the memory
of what i used to be,

of how i once was
and what i'll soon be,

if and if
i'm really just

another queen bee
without her hive

and sixty thousand-plus reasons
to stay at home,

surrounded
and alone.