to have a life beyond death. a face,
a friend, a cage, a splash of light.
to know what one thinks or feels or could.
to escape the self, and by escaping, more fully enter.
because the light that speaks to me does not
speak to anyone else in exactly the same way.
desire. compulsion. desire. compulsion. what’s the difference. what
happens when I fall from my perch. what happens. I am
carefully crafted to be fragile. a flitting, chronic
sunburst. why must I wake
to a world that believes in strength. where
instead of a full sky there is only a single shaft. an
unmatched urgency. a heavy draft to dull the senses.
why must I be the first
to go quiet. black as ash. to have a life
beyond death. a song, a stranger,
a canary, a coal mine. what’s the difference.