On the shore of a lake
 I sink to my knees, 
 with blood condensed
 from the coarse weight 
 of being.

 The earth subsides, 
 and a burning tide
 flows into me.

 Like a bloated vessel
 I crack. 

 Alone and broken, 
 the brittle form 
 built of fallacies and frailties
 cannot play
 with the flames.

 Every pore opens, 
 scalded as certainty retreats. 
 No singular thread 
 of resistance remains.

 I stand unhoused 
 in dislocation. 

 Listen. 

 The privilege of pain
 has blazed through me. 
 As she lifts, 
 a flicker of light
 beams through the haze. 

 Refined, I rise
 and weigh my memories.

 Look!

 They are lighter too.