baseball bats and salivating mouths    in a square room, doors locked   once again i'm alone inside a crowd   a misplaced throw, a misplaced swing    and everything unfolds   a microcosm of humanity   a microcosm of cold      the waves wash over one another   anxiety, proximity    erupting from the chemistry    of testosterone isolated    until the first fists fly    instincts pushed to breaking points   surging bodies, snapping joints      two shoes lost inside a fray   two socks on laminated hardwood   360 degrees into harms way   a length of lead grazed the side of my head   as others fall and others leave    and others show their vampire teeth      two chunks from my neck   four lips that drip with skin   socks that slide as the blood runs down my shirt    or over two strange chins   there is no way out of detention   rage pushed a doorway down   fear carried me past the last contusions hurled    at bodies on the ground      dizzy terrified awake in sweaty skin   mom, i'm never going back to school again