i.
mental map.  
kingdom.
a peasant's land.  
monarchy.  
soliloquy dreams.  
there is honor in being noble
there is serendipitous fate in being transient.
left to choose between a palace of exquisite marble
and expensive murals
or a life of poverty and mud-dusted fingertips
the ability to walk out upon pavement
cry in the company of a stranger
feel dangerous for a change.
ii.
chimera holds a flame above my memories
fraying the edges of sweetness
making livid to peaceful retreats
i took as a child
behind embers and coils
matchsticks and lighters
the gasoline is poured all the way across my chest
reduced to cinder
chimera holds the match
iii.  
i wish i hadn't told you
i figured that once i did, it would be in your hands
and now
it's strangled between your hands
choked and mumbled back into my scorn
i've never understood
the power of being ignored.