Poem- Metal Mouth

Egon Schiele, 'Agony'

There is a sour taste in my mouth,

the vile taste of metal in my mouth.

Is it a symptom of bitterness

or have I swallowed rusted pipes?

Bad dreams and indigestion

go hand in hand, said Freud.

Last night, I saw a face with rotting flesh

melting off bones and a mouth

gaping wide to engulf me-

a subterranean nightmare of decay

and putrefying breaths.

There is no light in such places,

just a heart rending isolation,

and a slow consumption of being.

What is Time anyway? Is a moment

in dream more lucid than sequence?

And I wake up screaming, always

with a subconscious aftertaste

of metal or the acid juice

of bitter lime in my mouth.

Zaina Anwar 2010