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Monday 28 April 2014

Bekah Steimel

I.

Life had lost its luster
like someone had unplugged
all the lights
and short-circuited the sun
my final candle
melting
dripping
disappearing
as I was
down to my last match
clinging to my tenth life

--

IV.

My thirst extends past water and whiskey
and there is no calorie
to hush this hunger
everyone leaves a dent
after their collision with this world
fuck a fender bender
I want the head-on crash
you can’t overlook or undo
the flaming crater
mistaken for no other

--

VI.

Poetry is passing away
dying quietly
at the hands of poets
a wild animal
eating its young without remorse
a slow strangulation
committed by flexed fingers
who choose suffocation
over embrace
refusing to relinquish
their python grip
on the throat of expression
all poems
should be written in blood
instead of our endless ocean
of ink
finally
like love
we would write only
what was worthy of the wound

Bekah Steimel is an internationally published poet living in St. Louis. Her pastimes include flirting, drinking whiskey and making people uncomfortable. Find her in Bohemia Journal, Gutter Eloquence, The RPD Society, Sinister WomenVerity La, and more. Visit www.bekahsteimel.com.

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