The words were bitter
Held on my tongue,
Turning my stomach
In a sea of nausea
My hands frozen
With the chill of
Their truth,
Ice claiming hold
Of veins that
Craved the warmth of the sun-
Words needing to be said,
Racing to the tip
Of an acidic tongue-
A fault not mine
But yours-
With their release
I found the aftertaste
Sweeter than any victory,
More memorable
Than any love,
As the deep freeze
Lifted from my body,
The scent of burning wood
Filled the void,
Signaling the bridge
That had just destructed-
The words hung in the air,
As I listened to the cracking
In your careful façade,
The face you painted
And turned and twisted
To alter the emotions
Within myself-
But I found as your pieces
Tink-tink-tinked to the ground,
That I was still whole,
A standing human
Staring at a pile of glass
Surrounded by the ash
Of the building
You constructed
With faulty framing-
A miracle it lasted
Longer than the bridge
Meant to gap the differences
Between you and I-
In the realization I found
My fingers no longer ached
For the thorns you had shared
But instead found solace
In the soil of planting a new seed
In a familiar ground,
Where your poison
Never seeped
And I had always flourished.
Katrina Thornley is a nature poet. novelist, and freelance journalist that resides in Rhode Island. She has two poetry collections currently published, a novel, as well as a short story anthology. Her poetry collections "Arcadians: Lullaby in Nature" and "Arcadians: Wooden Mystics" were inspired by a local park and life in her small rural town. You can find them on Amazon now!
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About the Creator
Katrina Thornley
Rhode Island based author and poetess with a love for nature and the written word. Works currently available include Arcadians: Lullaby in Nature, Arcadians: Wooden Mystics, 26 Brentwood Avenue & Other Tales, and Kings of Millburrow.
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Comments (1)
Powerful story of surviving the toxic & finding root in fertile soil.