cw: domestic abuse
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dry willow endeavor to go bald with dignity
shed threads grabbing paint from wonton wind
let arcs speak let motion outline brittle sallow
each crack bleats in harmony with hissing scald
washing wool in pots of stew mutton dying green
sitting butterfly below felled trees gone home again
tormented pine dine tonight in silence eyes turned low
past the growth lightning cracks the oldest embers glow
years abate making rings of gentle touch curving lifeline
shaping rage decorating campfire by their edge of light
all those words unspoken leave fuel for burning violence
electric shrieks of panic outside the attic exchanging blows
fist or tongue they batter dancing flames scatter over roads
where could the seeds escape
in the roar of breathing games
must every conflict echo late
rejoining ashes to fresh flames
with one sorry
pain
dissipates
but those
quarrels
end in rain
and saplings open
how ever fertile cruel ash might be
truth needn't burn false harmony
pruning words might cut too deep
but rotten cores are strong as ink
marking laws no culture keeps
for a forest floor no critter cleans
haphazard growth in sun that sneaks
through injured limbs loving carelessly
kissed
in
smoke
skies
youth
finds
time
to climb
the rays
rejoice as they join
the forest of pain
YOU ARE READING
Original Poems 2024
PoetrySometimes my trauma works its way into my work. Sometimes I'm writing a joke. I'll try to signal when I think a piece might be particularly difficult, but I'm not a great judge of that. My work within will be unfocused. Critiques are welcome.
