Oppressive Orange

Beneath the clay I eavesdrop hoarse echoes from a marigold world draped in marmalade felicity I grimace as sandstone terra lets all its weight stack upon my rusty bones, buckling under the fire; The spice upon my lips, a cider of courage, reminds me of the rhapsodic beauty that I once knew-- Gamboge fields beneath my feet in Bali, balmy bronze sands in Belize, sweet tangerines in Brazil Truculent desires once defeated by the ferocious roar of a tiger roaming the fields of his kingdom-- But now the flavor is gone, relinquished to the cataclysm of burnt rage that tortures my heartbeat Bronze earth crushing my lungs, I breathe specks of ginger dust just to maintain a languid pulse The taste of blood dripping down my throat as I swallow persimmon shards from shattered teeth My fingernails ripped out as I claw with coral skinned tips at an indomitable wall of tawny flesh It taunts me with laughter as I dig, mocking my efforts to escape while I choke on vermilion tears; This is my world of stomped beauty-- mashed amber serenity scorched into blood orange embers Buried dreams of a once enraptured existence now encompassed by a soil veil of repugnant pain My uncertainty of escape is as certain as my demise-- blazing indignation gasping one final breath Dimmed by the light of a fading orange sunset, silent and still; March 4, 2016