Coal to Burn the World
Natascha Graham
I do not belong here.
I, do not belong
Belly down against flat earth I,
Splinter like sheet glass
beneath boots that crack my spine
I. Do not belong.
I, a feather bed to my own head
My Own, very particular kind of madness
Lying here, on the ground
Life in my teeth, my mouth, my tongue
But still, I breathe
Still not choked after
All these
All these
All of these
Moments.
One, after the other, after the next, after the next
Life. I see it now, stretched too thin with a punctured eye and I see it
How the weeping willow would watch the river bed should I drown
belly up, this time
Eyes like sea glass
Mouth like a fish
Try them all,
Try them all,
These ways to sink a ship, to skin a cat, to catch a mouse
To break a heart
Sink me, rock bottom,
Drown me, slowly,
Take the coins from my mind’s eye and sell my universe for coal to burn the world
Down
But still, I will breathe
Because, I
Do not belong.