Formaldehyde you put me to rest
You quiet my struggles and my past
When you grasp me in your midst
Sleep comes easy, let me pass

Formaldehyde you keep my specimens
You preserve aborted experiments
Labeled badly, colors blanched
You help me collect my experience

Formaldehyde you escape so easily
On the wind with your stinging memory
Lingering afterglow of "is it clean?" or
"Is it covering up the rotten breeze?"

Formaldehyde you put me to rest
Sleep comes easy, gentle, fast

2/2/23