Elemental

There is something
about fighting fire with fire
Cauterizing the wound
A two-finger nail X on the bite
The way heat blurs

The reliving now worse than the living
But your motives pure
as salt

There are two heights
the height of the bridge and the height you feel
standing below it

Now we must discuss regret

The undertow
Sandpaper clothes
Descending to the bottom
Rip tide, the shiver of it

Or

Has this always been about
discipline

Spending half your life building a bridge
plank by plank
The next half patiently
watching it burn

There are two wants
the one you want
and the one you want to want

Something about sink or swim
Something about stop, drop, and roll

Maybe it was
Don’t hold your breath

Or

— 2020