• bearer
08/19/25
i was born somewhere in a candle’s flame;
flicker, flicker.
so small the pain yet new to me,
i thrashed and shouted til the wick snuffed out
and in the newfound cold, i shiver.
i bear the burdens of
long nights
deep spirals
and friends who fade away.
cauterize wounds, toughen my skin;
thicker, thicker.
the rest grow timid whilst i seek flight,
with wings of wax just above sea foam
too high they’ll melt, too low they’ll splinter.
i bear the burdens of
fierce fights
teary eyes
and lovers who turn me stray.
this head is crowned in gilded thorns, they
glimmer, they glimmer.
but those i protect, ’n overburdenly rule,
i, too, persecute, drag into hell where
when all’s said and done, it’s turned winter.
i bear the burdens of
false might
ugly roars
and shitty poetry by day.