on the chopping block

[ceramiclifestyl]

through dream and recent memory
shadows on the water danced, played
a roll of the dice never made
and there remained
two skeletons on opposite shores

five fallen fingers, counting
the roads to the heart of the state
time to defibrillate
keep casting out lines full of bait
not enough orca to take down the whale

ears(barely there) of picked-up shame
by listening to the spiral shells
and the stories they tell
of droughts, swells and the in-between steam
you'll get lost in the shuffle without a blanket above you

so there it is, exposed
neck out, ripe with blood
eyes screaming "i wish you would"
the see-saw of wills, the balance of good (and good)
in the moment before decisions we look away

build a bridge or, better yet, make an earthquake