The days blur into one long ache,
Soft edges worn thin
By the weight of repetition.
Eat, sleep, work —
Repeat.
And for what?

The white distressed peeling paint, deeply textured black locust bark, the fading Queen Anne’s lace swaying in the breeze bathed in late summer sunlight… I am held captive by the silent story that lives here.

An abandoned Air Force Base sits atop a mountain in the Northeast kingdom of Vermont.

She stared at me with dead eyes and a blank look on her face. I asked her again, “Do you remember what you said to me before I left the bedroom?” She didn’t. I remember that night vividly.

Invisible, I sit here — A ghost amongst the crowd. Do they perceive These thoughts concealed, I never speak aloud?

Don’t want diamonds, Have no use For pearls. Touch my soul, Set it aflame, Make it dance — twirl