one word
One word and there is a freezing heaviness,
Like sawtoothed icy rocks tucked viciously into pockets in my skin.
Stitched over abruptly with wire,
And covered in ash so that the scars will not fade.
I may tattoo over these unquiet marks
And make them mine to show;
Lines and swirls and cartoon characters that disguise me
By decorating the places where I am different.
One word and now, I am different.
I cannot seem to tread the measure
In time to your universal step.
I flinch to the music to which you all dance.
This tune in my ears is off-key.
One word and the weight of my bones is crushing me.
It seems to me that there are no quiet places left in the world.
I walk through graveyards to hear the whispers
Of the ten thousand lives I forgot that I was never a part of.
Ten thousand lives unsung.
I do not wish to mark ten thousand and one.
One word and all your goodbyes don’t fit inside my heart.
Not with this guilt saturating my skin.
Things unsaid;
Words that should not have been -
Were better buried beneath a crossroads than given voice.
I would wash my hands of those conversations
But for the stains upon my tongue.
One word and I have so little time to make this right.
Where do I begin?
... with one word?
© mjc 16 May 2015
