The Wrench

The words were stale and restless in his mouth,

so he spat them out onto the floor,like the gristle of

an overdone steak; and her brow furrowed over 

every writhing anecdote, as his falsehoods lay

withering at clumsy feet. So,

she could see through him; 

He was more than ready to let it all burn out,

 he was tired of the rot. Tired of running his tongue

over teeth begging to spark under weighty words. 

And she…

She was done carrying a corpse with the 

arms of a shadow;

Memory can only drive a vessel so far. 

So, as the sun rose and dried out the 

flesh between them; the finality of 

goodbye drove them apart,

like a sunrise, that can never be set.

Not again. 

It’s all just earth now. Decomposed; however tampered:

It’s hot asphalt burning the toes of lover’s dreams.

Molten Steel falling unto the breast of a newborn city.

Pollution choking the quake of sentient evolution. 

Love dampened by the leak of morality, fidelity….

It’s so easy to throw a wrench into the machine,

and too damn tempting to watch it burn…

-James Kelley 2014, All rights reserved.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2014

Poem

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