Button Poetry - Villanelle for the Wound lyrics

the last time I saw josh at school his head was shaved and his skull had been stapled shut he'd liked this boy and when the boy found out about it hed spit on him and then 8 months later out of nowhere he clubbed him with a metal pipe the drama teacher mr franklin said, “Remember that forever children that is what hatred looks like” but I saw the wound it didn't look like hatred it looked like a mouth a wide open mouth blood rusted gate that let the dreadful animals of lust escape how dare he speak of it out loud didn't he know what waited just outside the walls for boys like us did he forget? the last time I saw josh at school his head was shaved and his skull was stapled shut he'd liked this boy and when the boy found out about it hed spit on him and shouldered him against the wall of lockers the boy whose name was Thomas rivers was convicted of two counts of felony malicious wounding but he skipped the murder rap with something that they call the gay panic defense in his panic he left a teenage boy for dead Remember that forever children that is what hatred looks like but I saw the wound it didn't look like hatred it looked like a mouth with tarnished metal sutures for its teeth A white and puckered scalp for lips A loud and punch drunk mouth that sang in languages of dumb struck fog and held its smile for my eyes Unbearable, a jagged riverbed the last time I saw josh at school his head was shaved and his skull was stapled shut he'd liked this boy and when the boy found out about it it was from somebody that josh trusted some girl whose razor wired name is lost to us who probably thought itd be funny “funny to hear about it josh the gay kid thinks your cute He likes you, he told me” Jealous girl, a blistering of ants A swarm of angry red Remember that forever children that is what hatred looks like but I saw the wound it didn't look like hatred it looked like a mouth The mouth that I kissed instead of davids mouth instead of tim or adams mouth the mouth that swallowed risk and flirt and take and have and spouted blooms of dreadful silence we men who love mens bodies know this mouth its whispered menace its venom spit its fevered breath the last time I saw josh at school his head was shaved and his skull was stapled shut he'd liked this boy the boy found out about it and I remembered that forever what it looked like hatred like a mouth