Forgive me, Forever
Sometimes it rocks me
Not to sleep, but a tremor of cracks
As I try to split identity from trauma
A dichotomy, a dilemma
Redundancy filtered over and over,
Conversations in the shower with
The young woman who can’t help
But take fault in the earthquakes
That shook this foundation.
The bitter imagination of a sleeping volcano
Festering an impending purge of fury;
It makes me worry for your safety.
I know your hands have been seared,
But I still fear the eruption
Of a false phoenix set on combustion.
The warm nights will pass and I will leak fire into the summer
And remember
That a dying star glimmers in the night.
The steam grows thinner by morning
When your arms hold me tight.
by Angela Castillo (2019)
