i feel a drift
coming on &
may take the fade
on a spell;
nothing ever remains
for the feast
at me
Tag: betwixt and between
feast
empty

Photo by Cornelia Munteanu on Unsplash empty of understanding...
when i say i am stone,
i am not stone, i am stone
when i say i will river
i do not river, i just river
when i branch at tree
i am not branch, but i am tree
when i say of she i dream
it is not she, but it is me
these are times my vandal mouth
should be sutured shut
before someone sees
these broken words i bleedsoon, no one will call and read nothing back to me.
stripped
carving obsidian beyond bone
scraping down to marrow
still more: how can you cut further?
by slipping to shadows of shadows
to places behind the behind
kissing flint in the darkest of times
we grew of flowers once
we grew of trees, now
snow stained scarlet...
stripped to heartwood
we stand the granite over doorsCampfire Sessions — 07dec25

Photo by Ville Palmu on Unsplash Something about the campfire and the silent ghosts feels more burden than gift, so I slap my knees to signal that I need to get moving along as we do in the upper midwest, vocalize the requisite “welp” and stand. A few of the spirits turn their grey eyes to me, grant me a lingering look and then those empty eyes return to the flames. Not even a farewell wave then — the winter cold must be slowing them down today. Or maybe it is the daylight’s glare across the fresh snow that makes them blind. We gather in the late morning, although it isn’t without precedent. They prefer the glow of the flames against the backdrop of night, I’ve been told, but they will never turn down a flame lit in their honor if there is one burning in their area.
I don’t bother with any parting words. Not out of spite, but respect. I am mirroring their inclinations.
(more…)him, of the cart
fingers entwined
we laid side-by-side
waiting on the fade
into the morrow &
wept under pale stars
burning high above
our pale hearts


