nowheresville

by M. P. Powers

past midnight, in this dark room
i inhale a cigarette
and wonder where you are
as a splintered piece of moonlight
floats along the floor
and climbs up my pantleg
my nose is burning
and i feel like lord alfred
tennyson's corpse
caught in a pale dream
i feel like all the dud fireworks
in the world and i walk
onto the balcony;
it creaks below me, despair
disguised as a dog
is barking somewhere; a slender
thread of purple
smoke loops
around my fingers, this silver cloud
eats silently the moon
as night drowns itself
in darkness,
i take another drag
and wonder where you are