Merciel

I leave behind
a heavy-eyed mother near the bed,
a coffee-addicted father writing checks to my debtors,
a brother whose name I’ve forgotten,
a dog begging me for attention,
a kitten begging me for food,
a snake eating at my ear,
friends who have not seen me without makeup,
and a whore with a hand in my back pocket
so I could be with my friend from high school again.