NaPoWriMo 2023 — Day 11: “The Final Summer”

11. The Final Summer

the chainsaws are splitting
my limbs open,     heat,
my enemy,   seeding itself
into every nerve

I can’t move

but I can pray to every
ancestor,    mine,
& any others who might
be listening,   & I do

I cry without shedding
a tear because I’m out of them

I dream I tell all that I
may end it if the slicing
doesn’t stop,   if the burning
finally consumes me,
just so I can get some sleep

I don’t mean it,   it’s the pain
screaming for relief

I wake up every hour in agony
until I receive news
that this indeed will be
the final summer

I offer up all I have in gratitude,
lay down herbs,    wonder if
I’m making it all up,
if I’m still having that dream
but with a better ending

I will hold on tightly
to the future for once,
I will leave this
restless night here

I will see a new sunrise soon,
& it will finally feel like home

Photo by I.am_nah on Unsplash