blood boiling beneath
pale skinned me
shutters block the sun
at quarter past one

silence on the streets
no pitter patter feet
trees abruptly stilled
absent are the birds

pendula at peace
ocean in retreat
surface smooth as glass
time forgotten fast

alone or left alone
soul cries to atone
cast of my life has curtsied
curtain call in street lights

nothing here but motes
who in cracks of day denote
polka dotted air astir
with what was once afire

all left — this pulsing carcass
one body with its breath
this marble once green earth
until something killed its switch

won’t matter if doors are locked
or windows triple latched
a mystery to leave unsolved
to wander land eternally preserved

the day to wake to ended world
that left me lost in limbo
a dream without awakening
a day without an end

~ Em C.

2.2.19

*For Oldepunk and…