There is a wire
Stretched taut
Between me
And Home.
Below me there is darkness
Dizzying.
It is copper-shiny
And whisper-thin.
This is no trust test-
There is no test.
(There is no trust)
There is no grade,
This one
Is pass/fail.
There is a wire
Just the one
Bridging the gap
Between me and where
I need to go.
And it is hot
And it is sharp
And down it little shocks of white light pulse,
And they arc away
To bite my fingertips
And nip the ends of my hair.
And my feet
Are bare
And I
Am bare
And I cannot stay here
Because the cold
Will **** me-
Bruised blue and purple
The air, the ground, the light, it's all cold.
It's all frozen with little razorblade crystals of ice
And
I'd tightrope walk right over hell
To get away from the knowledge that that
Cold light
Is touching me
And making me different.
And I suppose that's lucky
Because
When I set out along my live wire of tension
It slices into the soles of my tender feet
Like they're made of softened butter,
And warm blood trickles down and
Drips
Into the void below,
And I wonder if whatever's down there
Likes sacrifices
And if a few drops
Can sign a contract
And if I care
Who owns me
As long as it's not
You.