staircase poem 16

in a shell game for digital media
what are skins vs shirts vs suits?
why not skin with body & heart
(not an either/or choice)?
fashion skin equals racism
&/or inferiority–superiority
complexes of power–powerless
power & abuse of power
or the cbc ticker tape typo
last night on power & politics
with evan solomon: "two members
of congress get letters with
harmless power" & here am i
instantly feeling that all
members of congress parliament
senate house of representatives
house of lords & politburo too
should receive & honour letters
with harmless power—do no harm

& what if i'm in your 1%
or in another's 2% anal–cranial
inversion or if i'm called
tin-man succubus viral infection
he's a cylon : i'm a cylon
aren't you a cylon too?
what colour is your ejector
seat button? how do you feel …
how do you continue your days
once you pull your burnt carcass
from a crashed vehicle
build a funeral pyre to send
yourself godspeed away
while you (of necessity
for self-preservation) sit
upwind of that fire in onshore
nightwind radioactive with
your own destruction at hand