forgetting//remembrance

10/20/22

i’m betting my life on it,

although

it hasn’t been worth much lately

when the carpenter stops his work,

what will you do?

not wanting is a choice, although

a pitiful one, really

because there is little one can do

when a tree turns

into a log into coal into ashes

look

this horde of crucifyingly glorious children

will

take your place

some day

look

they are playful and shiny

and they laugh like little sparks on the tidal eyelashes of an ocean

do you care if they will never remember

the outline of your shadow?

i wouldn’t

look

I’ve pawned my whole life

and all I got for it

was a magnifying glass

and a rose petal.