We engage with the world,
Our hands stumbling through
Grasping and dropping,
Finding sharp edges
We thought soft,
Finding the end of a rope
We thought longer-
We feel the rush of wind
Across skin
And smell the burning
Of a field we never enjoyed-
We listen to the crackle of the flame,
Heart thumping
As the acrid smoke fills lungs
Never meant to breathe in
The stress of a society crumbling,
Our heartbeats count
The lives lost-
The souls fighting for better-
The bitter edge of disappointment
Sits upon our tongue
Turning all thoughts of progress
To poison as we wait
For the fire to burn itself out-
We have been taught
To stand by,
In a world less than fit
For the inhabitants stumbling through,
Swallowing glass instead of speaking-
Cutting out tongues instead of providing
The truth that needs to be screamed-
Terror the only food
That fills empty bellies-
A trick played,
Beyond the smoke show.
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)
Incredibly powerful & driving social commentary. Even as we stand by, we are driven by this to something more, to cry out, "No!" to such an inevitability, to dream of & fight for something better.