memory #20
she watched the memory
of herself,
seal the coffin, with nails,
as big as railroad ties,
sharp and black, covered
from head to toe-
with the things i’ve said,
like barbed wire,
vines choking the trunk
of a once great tree.
i was great once,
flowering and majestic,
my limbs carrying the wind
and my crown housing those in need.
but those days have passed,
and i am ready
for harvest.
ready for my roots
to be scissored from this earth,
lit ablaze and kept as a memory,
my ashes spilling
along the floorboards
of a loving home.
an unwilling martyr for warmth,
spiteful with the sap
i will coat their chimney with,
and hope the smoke kills them all
