VOICES ON THE INSIDE

This is me
Aging ungracefully
Ungratefully
Learning firsthand the inevitable
Contours of terraforming
Seismic events shifting gravity’s center
Reshaping the failing continents
Shadows lengthening in every valley

This is me
Transmogrifying
One moment an ocean
Hovering unremarkable
At 98 degrees
Boiled to steam in an instant
Of transfiguration
Veins conducting lava flow
Suddenly candescent
A solar flare exploding
Heat into the atmosphere
I am trying to escape
The confines of this body

This is me
Struggling beneath the weigh
Of apathy, entropy
Grasping at straws
Trying to spin
Widdershins
A countdown of seconds:
Guesses, bests, chances—
Hand me downs: cliches,
Placations, degradations—
Mile markers studding
The edges of this 15 year stay-cation

This is me
I am just a person
Who’s been buried
An unfurling seed
Birthing, unearthing
Something worthy

This is me
— still just a person
In a dress rehearsal
On this frail human stage
This is me persisting
Against all expectations
Relentlessly pursuing change