Hello Poetry
Submit your work and get some sparkles! Create free account
jon-tobiasPoems
Underneath the burning building in my gut So much is preserved safely In the memory where you are smiling I find peace I want to be lonely in private But there is no space for that Under the rubble Compound fracture of bitter jawline That same smile a photo Warping in fire I want to preserve you Like a wasp in amber But we are not as slow as that Not as gentle The theory is Two objects fall at the same speed Regardless of mass Except for people We do not fall for each other at the same pace I felt like the man with the rescue dog That heard your heartbeat After the cement settled And the wood grew cold White ash Black cinderblock paperweights Your body preserved under Layers of broken building But you felt safe Because you set the fire And I was the man that found you Some secrets can’t stay buried We were cave people Found and revived I’m not new to this Just rusty Just dusty There are burn marks on our bodies And I have almost forgotten how mine got there There were things you thought you should go back for Things you wanted to leave behind But in the saving you took what you could carry There was baggage in your desperation To save what you thought was important When you burnt yourself to the ground You forgot that fire is a funny thing It lives too And you can’t control it There were some houses Left standing Whole acres unlit for no reason Not everything gets burned And there is a photo of you Cigarette hole dimples A smile that brings me peace And you brought with you Bits of burning ribcage And smoke filled lung To hide your heart minimally I brought nothing Mine is slightly weather calloused now But it works just fine It’s just rusty Just dusty So take this What is left of my burning breast plate Carved message on the inside like an oversized locket Underneath the black and white negative of your film strip “Thank you for trying”
0
Dec 27, 2012
Dec 27, 2012 at 6:01 PM UTC
When We Set Ouselves on Fire
Underneath the burning building in my gut So much is preserved safely In the memory where you are smiling I find peace I want to be lonely in private But there is no space for that Under the rubble Compound fracture of bitter jawline That same smile a photo Warping in fire I want to preserve you Like a wasp in amber But we are not as slow as that Not as gentle The theory is Two objects fall at the same speed Regardless of mass Except for people We do not fall for each other at the same pace I felt like the man with the rescue dog That heard your heartbeat After the cement settled And the wood grew cold White ash Black cinderblock paperweights Your body preserved under Layers of broken building But you felt safe Because you set the fire And I was the man that found you Some secrets can’t stay buried We were cave people Found and revived I’m not new to this Just rusty Just dusty There are burn marks on our bodies And I have almost forgotten how mine got there There were things you thought you should go back for Things you wanted to leave behind But in the saving you took what you could carry There was baggage in your desperation To save what you thought was important When you burnt yourself to the ground You forgot that fire is a funny thing It lives too And you can’t control it There were some houses Left standing Whole acres unlit for no reason Not everything gets burned And there is a photo of you Cigarette hole dimples A smile that brings me peace And you brought with you Bits of burning ribcage And smoke filled lung To hide your heart minimally I brought nothing Mine is slightly weather calloused now But it works just fine It’s just rusty Just dusty So take this What is left of my burning breast plate Carved message on the inside like an oversized locket Underneath the black and white negative of your film strip “Thank you for trying”
jon-tobias
Written by
jon-tobias
American
Dec 27, 2012
Dec 27, 2012 at 6:01 PM UTC
Request permission to use this poem