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Staring At Copper, Dreaming Of Silver.

I rip the Moroccan good luck coin off of my neck

bury the coppery metal in the string I have wrapped it in

and throw it beside the empty monster BFC

which sits next to the empty canteen that I filled with now sour blackberries this Sunday

the stack of losing scratch tickets, about $8.00 worth

and all the boxes that I have packed my life into and stuffed underneath that little card table

in front of the couch I live on in my great-aunts living room

which used to be my grandma's living room.

 

I throw that coin there

remembering just a minute ago seeing the dried tear tracks down my cheeks

which, at this moment, scream her name

my most recent temporarily failed obsession.

 

In this moment she is just another attempt for me to try to feel loved

being there, continuously, for her

wearing on my joints

on my mind

every last thought turning into paranoia

as I spill my heart out over a text, a ******* text, again

and she doesn't reply

again

and again

and again.

no reply.

And in those moments, this moment

I thirst for the glint of silver in this lonely, cold lamplight

for the feel of the knife I threw over the cliff and into the cold waters of discovery bay

in my hands.

I thirst for the feel of the tip pressed into my skin

the blade pulled, quickly, but never fast enough

slicing skin and hair and letting her name

(whatever her name is at the name)

spill, a thousand times across me

warm and somehow relaxing

as if telling me I was always right.

 

I thirst for that feeling warmth as I tell myself

that she doesn't care enough to keep me warm

that nobody does.

That I'm just a lower lip to bite once and forget,

just a sea of words bubbling over and reaching out for those closest

those who have ever even looked in the direction of this endless ocean and smiled,

reaching for them, grabbing them, tearing them to pieces, and drowning them,

or trying to, accidentally.

And then, when they escape, turning into a sea of rage

of warmth

of blood

that consumes itself and stays at low tide for days, weeks, months at a time

alone

the words having no sand, no skin, no mind other than their own to spill out upon.

 

I throw that coin there

on the carpet

where the TV used to be,

it now sits in my forgotten fathers bedroom

in the house I ran away from.

 

I throw that coin there

in the shadow of the empty monster BFC

hiding it from the glint of the dying lamplight

that makes my head scream

and my teeth clench

at 1:02am

as I wait for her

as I wait to somehow be remembered

to somehow have someone give a ****

and realize it's never going to happen.

 

I sit here, at now 1:04am staring at that coin

that she took out of her cars cup holder and gave to me

that I have worn on my neck for four days

leaving a white line through the redness of a sunburn.

that cold metal hitting my breastbone continuously, making a hollow thumping sound

reminding me of the hollowness in my chest

that even that heart,

which is beating faster than the off tempo drummers in the park in Leschi,

wired on 800mg of caffeine,

is hollow;

pumping less and less blood into my body with each disappointment

with each innocent passerby who finds herself buried under the words

that are floating there

close enough to see

close enough to hear on nights like this where they just want to break forth.

 

I sit here staring at that dull copper in the shadows

and dreaming of silver glinting in the lamplight.

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Written by
brandon-webb
American
Published
Aug 8, 2013
Lines·Words
80·641
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