I try to be brave.
I sewed my lips,
crossed my heart,
hoped to die.

the earth is a magnet for my tears-
so blind I will nourish a body long gone.
and my words will join it in the deep, cold ground-
buried sound ripped away from my tongue.

and in my bravery, I gave you all
leaving me barren and naked
while the ice winds burned my cheeks
and collected on the tips of my toes and fingers.

I start to hunger for bones-
ribs, sharp angles contouring my body
I know this life will be the end of me,
I hang like rotting fruit from a tree.

for weeks I will scratch,
forever searching for the meaning of my lost words.
I don’t think anyone will survive the slaughter
or the silence that will fall like the stretch of a canvas,
white and empty

only when you catch the star’s fading light will you realize there will be no time to say goodbye
we will all leave burning,
burning burning burning, no god can save us now.