“red oxide of iron,” Old English rust, related to “redness,” from: itching the jelly skin around scars to make it stop. learning to walk after the strike of a mallet against my patellar. a coast of corpses; autonomy of belly sour like convenience store nectarines. garland of smokestacks bellowing above rubber cities in rubber states in rubber countries outside hospital windows. from: insulin syringes caught in subcutaneous fat. flakes of ohio in whatever burning sticks to the sides of the skillet. my eyes, a good set of eyes, learning how to read a pain chart before my mother taught me how to speak.