We have sifted through
the ashes.
I smolder, I am cinders, I am ruin,
here there are no rafters left..
Another burned,
another scorched mouth full of coals,
another lie, I do not notice.

I lay down beneath the soot,
how easy it is to bathe myself in dust...
I smear the grime into the creases of
my heart, I do not notice.

Something has destroyed this,
a force has laid waste to me,
a hand has wiped this slate, toppled me,
I have made my bed beneath this carnage,
the wreckage has consumed me,
the fly-ash falls into my mouth,
I do not notice.

09/19/2003

Posted on 09/19/2003
Copyright © 2026 Vikki Owens