words spill from my brain,
scorch paper,
leave immortal marks,
anger, love, frustration, loss
ashen traces of life
i struggle to recall
pain pulls up to the table
clinking knife to glass,
demanding some wine
to acccompany this horror show
immune to cries
from shattered lives
left in its wake
i am never going to be
what i set out to,
corners turned,
alleys dark,
bring new
colors i have not
dreamed before
i pull pen from paper
reseat my mind,
and eye,
refocus energy
on well worn territory
alternate paths
to subjects hard to reach,
becoming my own
crier,
echoing similar refrains
through the caverns
of my imagination
repeated so many times
it is hard to prove
their veracity
only knowing that
if uttered enough times
they have to be
glb /// “traces of life”
originally published 10/11/2017
going sideways 