to the sound
of your friends playing a game
involving beetles and songs
I could’ve played along

but I could feel your eyes
and honestly, I’d gouged them out
if they weren’t already bleeding
forests, priests, and poetry

So I'll burn them instead
in an attempt to soak
any chance of fire
I swear

The only way
I could leave you is this:
with your eyes closed and
every memory of you in ashes