Poem a Day 2023

I spent the day beep bopping around,

my hands hoisted high above my head

signaling some giant angel to "Pick me up, 

pick me up, pick me up, pick me up!" 

And nothing. 

I'm not sure which burns more – the aching 

of my tiring and cramping arms or the desire 

to be held by something greater than myself,  

or at least something that sees me here. 

It's the same fire. 

Reciprocal immolation - I just  want to be condensed 

into all that is Good, reduced to coal and other 

fossil fuels to keep this desire smoldering:

to warm empty rooms with creaky windows, 

extravagantly. 

I want to birth heat maximally and inefficiently. 

I want to devote my embers to this empty room, 

I want to maintain this fire for sacrifices and ceremonies, 

I wanted to never be die out, and yet, on my takeout 

order container, someone wrote my name and a <3. 

Extinguished.