Ladders

curtained flames ignite the darkness. she wears her blades blood and all.

masks surround her. her island gasps.

tomorrow tells itself in stories young and old. with paper wrists that smolder ink. and razors of word and bone. tomorrow boasts the future in aimless stabs. an hysteria of raw meat. more hunter than victim.

time passes. in stones and sticks. as hurtful as they've ever been.

the path travels her. in drawstrings and fractions. a feeble math to tame monsters and mountains. the short grass between her toes. laughing and dreaming. of the earnest repetitions that once were living. pebbles in the squares. and one foot counting the distance between. mistake and epiphany.

narrow as it is.

quiet. all her temples crumbling.

loud. everything silent.

the pistons churning. the gas depleted. in the engine of her time machine.

shallow cuts. empty masks. a drought of faces.