i've made a lot of promises,
promises to dark beautiful faces
that float above me as i say my goodbyes
to the fleeting hours of light that never
seem to linger long enough for me to
reach you, despite how much i grow

promises that fly away on the wings
of beetles, wrapped in summer winds
and promises that dig deep into the dirt,
so deep that they become fossils,
undiscovered for centuries, or perhaps, forever

promises that become ugly beasts
that prowl the streets and set this world
on fire in the worst ways, promises that loom
in cracks under porches and as soon
as you're about to reach your doorstep
they grab you and drag you away

today i made a promise, a promise i've
been working up the courage to make for
a long, long while, a promise i didn't want
to make, but i really needed to make it, the
kind of promise that makes you stare at your
toes and shuffle your feet and wring your
hands out like they're full of ***** dish water

today i made a promise that will eat me
alive from the inside out like a million tiny
termites deep within a house, it will start
at my core, layer by layer, until i'm left with
an empty shell, and from the outside in, i'll collapse
upon myself, until i'm nothing but a foundation,
ready to be built back up again, all it takes
is just one, just one small, simple promise