floating and leaving no trace
i tripped and fell and
split in half
surprised to find that the split
to be smooth and polished
as if it had been there
all along or
as if cut by a stone cutter
wet saw heavy grit polishing wheels
but the inside, the caverns
left in their natural state
filled with glittering jagged
spikes, false stars winking
each one sharp enough
to kill a man
each star promising light
but offering only razors
——
the angel unfurls its wings
wings of a thousand thousand feathers
each a razor black with blood
they beat
space is cut
voices of shattered glass
fill the air
it turns my way and i am pierced
lacerated by its message
its wings seek my heart
it flays the living flesh
from my bones
leaving no human trace
not even
my name
she dances
on the sharpened edges
of razors
although
she doesn’t mean
to slice open
her feet
it’s just
there is the only place
she can find
to dance
and there is the only place
the music is loud enough
to hear
i glow
i am a furnace
hot and steel-forging
and the blades i produce
make damascus weep
each word an edge
each word a razor so fine
it slices my tongue as it
leaves my mouth
i quench my blades
my words
in the cool water of you
in the satisfying draughts
of your eyes
of your words
which are sheaths to my own
Words and Feathers 