#metallic
You can tell
the quality of the fire
from the way
the smoke billows.
You watch it from the porch,
counting the seconds between the grey curls
and the way the wind catches the soot,
turning it into a fine, black lace
against the blue of the afternoon.
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You’re thinking about the silver—
if it needs polishing.
You’re thinking about the door hinge
that squeaks every time
the cat pushes through.
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You’re holding a glass of water,
and the ice is melting against your palm,
a small, cold comfort
while the air begins to taste like copper.
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What you
can’t tell
is the moment
the air turns
from a warning
into a weapon.
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Whether you’ll get blisters—
a sudden, stinging bloom
across your knuckles
as you reach for the handle.
Or if you’ll simply stand there,
still holding that lukewarm glass,
and see your house burn.
— Around —
you.
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TiB
Apr 21
Apr 21, 2026 at 8:04 PM UTC
the wet weight of a Tuesday
presses against the back of my skull
where the salt collects in ridges.
I am counting the pulses in my thumb,
one for every time the window
vibrates from a truck I cannot see.
my teeth feel too large for my gums
and the copper taste of a penny
is stuck under my tongue,
insistent and metallic.
there is a pigeon on the ledge
with one clouded eye staring
at the way my knuckles turn white
when I grip a glass of lukewarm water.
the clock isn't ticking,
it is just moving forward
without asking for permission.
I forgot the name of the person
who used to sleep on this side of the bed
so I am breathing into the empty space
until my lungs feel heavy with old air.
the ceiling has a crack shaped
exactly the way my thumb feels.
Mar 31
Mar 31, 2026 at 10:08 PM UTC
my tissue is stained with red blotches
it's only two cuts though.
not a biggie and didn't hurt much.
I just blow
away the redness on my wrist
and smell the metallic scent.
kinda refreshing if you ask me.
Sep 11, 2024
Sep 11, 2024 at 7:55 AM UTC
Drinking blood
of sinful
bodies
that want
no more
than a hand
to bite down on.
******* every
last drop
of metallic
liquid out
to taste life
the way
it is.
Oct 23, 2018
Oct 23, 2018 at 6:45 AM UTC
when we used to speak, i found comfort in saying whatever i so thought
i looked forward to spilling the contents of my brain into the open air,
allowing you to take in the sights and sounds of the sentences my lips were forming around
when we speak now, all i feel is a glass sheet sat on the tops of my teeth waiting to shatter under the pressure
of the conversation
now, i have to be careful with what i say, otherwise,
the shards would find their way down my throat causing nothing but more pain, and more blood
now, when we speak, the words i say feel different against my tongue
they taste metallic and damaging
like lies and betrayal
rather than sweet memories and fairytales
like sugar cubes
and honey
Dec 6, 2017
Dec 6, 2017 at 5:19 PM UTC
I am envisioning a world of bots,
pulling us into the black hole
of innovation and technology,
with no trees, no schools, no collages,
nothing that is bricks and mortar.
Can you envisage a life on man-made oxygen?
Can you imagine the fantasy world
in movies becoming our real world?
I'm being ingenuously curious,
how long before
a plethora of machines and bots,
a metallic universe created by man,
replaces everything we have lived for?
A few more countable years perhaps.
Just the thought sets me off in trepidation.
I wish to somehow freeze and slowdown
the evolving era so the living flesh and blood
could be prepared for what they are about to face.
Jul 25, 2016
Jul 25, 2016 at 2:53 PM UTC
the clay watched with rented breath
the red robe genuflect before
the dirt-dark nailed wood.
strange words were uttered
choral echoes flew
they too would bend their knees
those veiled long hair
those oval faces with scanning eyes.
the red robe spoke
they moved the corners of their mouths
till they were too far
they nodded, and nodded, and nodded
they did not know how to stop.
the red robe did not speak
he read from two slabs.
the air cracked by a
tip-toe cadence of metallic muttering
they held their breath
but there was panting.
with one unseen flicker
that stole as fast as
light shot from up beyond
there
perched on that dirt-dark nailed wood
a dove of light of blinding vaporous whiteness.
we hid our eyes.
our faces too.
we only saw a tall slender spiral staircase
that ascended a long, long,
long way.
May 11, 2015
May 11, 2015 at 9:31 PM UTC
Been with me the longest of all,
Through all tough times,
And every small brawl.
Your sweet ticking sound,
And your elegant black look,
Your metallic cold touch,
Changed my life like a fairy tail book.
O my friend, my lucky charm
How I am gonna miss,
Your warmth around my wrist.
You Served me well,
Always fair,
And just in time,
For a single cell.
The time has come,
It's the toughest of all,
You left me alone,
Gone in a single fall.
- *The ******
Apr 13, 2015
Apr 13, 2015 at 1:15 AM UTC
Read to me about things i'll never see
Imagine I'm sitting up in a hospital bed
Cradled by white cotton pillows infused with bleach
Empty clear bendy plastic cups sit neglected
My usual lipstick stains stayed in the handbag today
Your fingertip bruises decorate me instead
I once thought:
There is no better colour than the colour that they put into your eyes
That is the colour of the liquid that they have put in the drip bag
I might not be able to picture that colour, but I recognise the feeling of it entering my body
Rusty clots and mascara dust barricade it from leaving
Maybe not immediately
Or in a weeks time
But the cells of my heart muscles are becoming saturated with the juices
Becoming preserved in syrup
Seized and breathless
I knew that from the very first time I have been a can of something
Its label torn off
Unsealed and bleeding
And we both knew Duct tape couldn't keep that together
Still my hands were cupped trying to clasp
But now Its embedded under my fingernails.
Jun 11, 2014
Jun 11, 2014 at 1:20 PM UTC
Downy flowing dripping
That metallic taste in my mouth
I knew there was something wrong
with me before I knew
what it was
I still don't know exactly
But I do know for sure
when I step into a room
no one looks to the door
Apr 16, 2014
Apr 16, 2014 at 12:35 AM UTC