Keep Very Still

i heard
i was told
my conscience is a gear
with stakes
and to keep very still
if it bent
it would break
and the blade
would stay
infecting its hold
after that first revolution
i knew
it was more than a stone
like a bomb
i heard
it click into place
a leaf in the spokes
nobody heard
nobody knew
it left off long ago
and i don't know if it gave out
or blew a hole slowly
i bleed to
death or
it just
lies
in
wait

nov 7, 12