echoes in my mind
like aches
but merely echoes
I am getting better at being
alive
but that is only because
I am so full of dead things
to remind me of what I now
have the option
not to be
to be
is my decision
yes
I am locking it in
to be
that is my final answer
until my choice is taken from me

stardust is the basic component
of all the parts and pieces
I am so full
of dead things
I was born with fourteen ghosts
excluding the stars that we rise
from the ashes of
like phoenixes
excluding the animals
that gave rise to us
excluding names
and faces
and friendships
and homes

fourteen ghosts

and they say we are born innocent