NowhereNothingNoone

Walking over the bones of broken horses, no definition, the clouds open their mouths, and open lungs breathe the husky air in, individually alone, letting the regret of past decisions sting, singe in our skins like a branding, these shadows have power, the trees double over as if punched or laughing, she's been murdered multiple times, she tells us, but who is she anyways, strangers look at me like they know my name, where I come from, I come from a land of thick-skinned oxen people, stubborn until submission, arrogant to a fault, the frozen mud crunches beneath our feet and he picks up a rock beneathe me, aim for the forehead, I begin to scream, see what happens when this particular skull splits, I imagine that serendipitous crepitus, and then the dog barks, snaps me back to this hard reality, he or I or we sniff the old dirt for new signs of life, not here, not now, not until she brings us all the way up to the top of the hill, freezing, that's when she told us about the horses, ruined by a vicious farmer, broken bodies buried beneath the land they were beaten on, beasts made to feel like beasts, so weak they believed those four legs weren't strong enough to break free from there, stained reins, chipped hooves, can you even imagine the scabs in the ears, how normal the wounds become, the more usual it seems to watch our blood fill the tubes running out of us, wake up long enough to scream this isn’t a dream, don't let them touch me again don't let them cut me open, they've got me, held fast to my intestines my god how much blood the body can let out once you allow it and my god did you forsake me, and I rub my eyes as if they were his, burdened by being helpless, thinking that the only real truth is, the only moral buried in all the rubble is you can't fight when you're being crucified, you can fight with two legs, two hands, a human form, last night I dreamt that you had to sacrifice your hands to stay alive, the only things that can hold us together, like branches

(k)