Poe is back with another poem, so Jesse joined in for a second installment of “Shel Silverstein for grown ups.”
Writing by Charlotte Amelia Poe
Art by Jesse Davis Karshner

afraid of the dark
cos baby the void is calling for you
steady as the wind and twice as loud
think you can tune it out but it’s like the pounding of blood in your ears
once you’ve noticed it, it’s only going to get louder
pretty little earthquake, natural disaster wrapped in 24k finery
said you’re allergic to anything less, like the gods built you better than the rest of us
all around you is the kind of chaos you only see on tv
and baby the way you’re smiling is like crocodile tears written truthfully
and here you stand, eye of the storm like a reckoning
so maybe you’re not wrong
goddamn, i mean, i’m watching the streetlights flicker in horror movie anticipation
throat dry like i can’t swallow clean anymore
my head is pounding, baby girl, you’re looking right through me
turn me inside out like i know you want to
apocalypse child you are so alive you make me want to die with it
can’t hold my breath can’t breathe my lungs are radio static
you raise your hand to my cheek and your touch feels like rapture
catharsis through belonging through this hopeless neverland wonderland halflife what is this?
if you kissed me i’d die, so kill me sweet
twenty questions to fall in love with the end of the world, girl
you’re halfway home and i’m halfway gone
and i can’t try for trying
endless nameless quickly now, run this tape out
annihilation is a sunset after a long day with nowhere to be.
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