water // .. // fire // echoes

poems

you asked for fresh spring water
but tears were all i could offer you
tears i cried myself, not that it mattered;
you suffer from a thirst no one could stifle.
you plunge the cup in the cold water
of the dilapidated well
and sip me just as i am
unfiltered, unchanged.
sieve me through your teeth
and feel my caress
along your esophagus
as i pour into you
in impenetrable depths
among frozen soil
where a deafening silence
shows me the crossroads
in between your ribs,
the water fills in the cracks
eroding away the sharp edges
and i cry a salty sea
of an impure, changed water
which to the touch
evaporates to steam.

---

they tell you to
excise this amorphous appendage
the obscure organ of connection
imprison yourself in solitary confinement
listen to your capricious whims
forego love and friendship
despise unity, community
embrace this elysian solitude
so that you may live and die
unseen, unbothered
a life unfulfilled
a breath wasted.

---

I burned, burned in the dead hour,
scorching flames hugged me tight
the agony of my skin melting off
the pain of wasting away
turning to coal, to ash
from which I cannot rebirth
licked by flames, whole
I’d set loose the flame of my desire
and all I can do now
is spread my ashes in the wind.

---

echo, I’ll never be lonely
I have you to fill in the silence.
echo, you understand me
I find myself in your familiar voice.
echo, where do you come from
can you visit me from time to time?
echo, I’d love to hold you tight in my embrace
and feel your warm whispers in my ear
echo, how I adore you
you never say the wrong thing
and echo, sometimes we fight
but you never raise your tone more than I do
and echo, I forgot to tell you,
when my reflection speaks, it’s you
so echo, who are you and why
do I still feel so lonely?

---

an ocean hides in its depths
hideous creatures that lurk in the dark;
while its surface seems quiet,
a polished mirror,
it deceives the onlookers.
sharp teeth and rough scales
adorn memories of pain and failure
and for every child it spawns,
the ocean cradles my tears
and continues its undisturbed watch
over my shameful burdens.
these wounds fester, they multiply
and I hurt, not knowing why.