P.O.E.M.

"Here is the Heart, Bleeding"

I'll leave compassion on the street
Like a dog on a leash
Indifferent to defeat
Offer up condolences
To a motherless child
Strapped in the backseat
Of this bystander's sideshow attraction
Disguised as a distraction

And I'll set the fire
If you light the match
At least we can console
In the fact
We both poured the gasoline
And walked away
In victory
Hand in hand

We will become
The famous last brushstrokes
of an artist's protege
Forever earmarked with watercolors
Upon a canvas of blood and stone
Since marble is too difficult to sculpt
To mold, like clay

Keep your posture straight
And your self-composure intact
As the artist resets the bone

I'll be the fountain
In perpetual motion
Releasing tension

Youth disguised
As a garbage fire
Somewhat contained
But we all play
The roles they assigned us
Young lovers
As we do