John Sweet

 let go and burn away

almost human
in the afternoon sun

almost at home in
my own skin

not fear exactly,
but hatred
turned inward

the violence of thought
vs
the compassion of despair

and what matters is
what happens,
but this feels incomplete

what matters is the
silence between words

i have been trying to
define you for too long now

i have been planning my
escape as a means of
fighting inertia

have been moving
towards the uncertain
future even while counting
backwards to zero

and, yes, i will tell your
sister i love her,
but not until it’s too late

that’s the trick

always move slowly
towards
the nearest open door

always smile while
assessing the damage

you will know when
it’s time
to turn & run

mondrian, through the big window

glare of white sky on chrome
on broken glass
on hills made of gauze

streets and then
roads and then highways

cities and the vast
empty spaces between them

dogs chained to dying trees

stand far enough away from
the pain and the desolation and
look for a pattern

look for the source
of the bleeding

imagine the truth but
remember that i know your
lies as well as i know my own

imagine beauty

steal what you can before
grief is all we
have left