Enduring

As I stand in my glass jar-

And blossoms

A shard

And another

Metallic

And glistening

Around the edges of my periphery

And I hold out

To brace

Onto the ones close to me

New and old—

They grow sharper

Talons sinking

For every rattle I cause

For every hustle I do

For every person I lose

For every experiment I do

For every version of me:

Long lost

and far far away

And the jar rattles

And shakes

And the talons remind

What it feels like

to peel like

Red onions

And to feel the deep dumb pressure against my bones until they shake to hold my insides:

And I am tired

Of lashing out-

All that remains

Is wetness

And

This jar

Of Plum-red sorrow,

Until I tumble

it onto the floor

Only to become

Fluid and fluid -

A salad

Sprawling onto the new horizon

Against the horizon,

Of turquoise and blue

All that is left of me

Is a mettled bullet

Of brass -

Metallic

And glistening. 

March 7, 2025