The Whimsy of Exponents

Stern creases in the fabric. Wear us small. Betray the fold. As this heat blossoms the flesh.

Skipping rope. Stones on the pavement. Waging the numbers. Bent down. On one foot. Double dutch. To breach the flailing hammock. The candy and soda. The dead have left for us. Too easy to sour.

Culling the vast stars. With a tiny comb. And broken barrettes. To arrange the soft ladders. Tepid windows. Looking out onto the funeral. Some would say is us.

Or else heroes that never mattered. Blunt capes compound the fever. While science struggles with the cure.

Cold windows repel the beauty of the sunset. The glass tells us what to want. But we don't listen. As the rain taps out its code upon it.

Daggers. And hydrogen bombs. Snicker with understanding. As she carves the letters into her skin. The ink stains the wounds. So that it won't forget. The charming paradoxes that prevent us from knowing.

When.

To breathe.