they burn

so that you have to look away

close your eyes

lest your life be seared

bury the memory of the flames

deep beneath your fearful skin

and think that hidden

the fiery letters sputter out

extinguished

not even marked by a trail of smoke

in the hour of death’s arrive

when agony screams or acceptance smiles

and the bones begin their final dance

these words appear again

etched from the skeletal surface

rise with gilded wings

shining above the funeral pyre

what words are these

do not ask

each carries their own ashes

in the cinerary of their open heart

these we carry like outsize stones

our back bent beneath such burden

our steps made to falter and halt

as we seek in vain to adjust the weight

and yet we cling to these attachments

the expectations that hold us bound

our hearts confused that they represent love

mistaking leaden rocks as precious jewels

scared to drop them and let ourselves breathe

lest lighter we rise into the vast expanse

in the journey to home, what do I carry

even the lightest of memories can burden

the wrinkled hands of my grandmother preparing jam

the salty bite from a wave stinging my eyes

the throaty calls of bullfrogs sending me to sleep

the orange moon filling the night beyond my childhood window

these have filled my coat pockets

their bittersweet weight heavy as stones

if I drop them, will I walk easier on the road

or float away from any ground, dispersing all self into the sky