floating and leaving no trace
douse me in accelerants
use a word as effective
as a zippo shielded from the wind
to ignite me
shall we count, then?
see how fast i burn
almost as if I were made
of dry, bundled grasses
whispering, shushing
what number did you reach
before there was nothing left of me?
i hope you were not distracted
by all that smoke
i have ceased to trust
the sound of the wind
as it whispers in the pines
the wind lies and cheats
a dirty fighter
it has thrown dust
in my eyes
my tears run
filthy and muddy
and i am blinded
ignorance is bliss
you say
let me tell you
there’s a pragmatic kind
of not knowing
that is better than knowing
where you can convince
yourself that you do not need
to know
what you do not want
to know
a lizard scurries past
on the sidewalk
sans tail
and i’m happy for him
having evaded a predator perhaps
or possibly just a kid
on a bike
but he must feel that loss
off balance
without that weight
to anchor him
for when the wind
picks up and whispers
Words and Feathers 