Now is not the time, she tells me
You are still bleeding out
I have no idea what she means
Or perhaps I do
Feigning innocence in the aftermath of war
If I look the other way, I will not see the blood gushing down my arms, soaking the carpet beneath my feet
I will not taste the bitter edge of their final words
I will not hear the echoes of a broken promise, slamming hard against my walls
My eyes squeeze shut and thrust themselves into daydreams born in the midnight gasps of a pre-teen’s heart
Look away
Find another way
Tell me my future, I beg her
This isn’t where I want to be
My gaze casts forward and I am standing firm at the crest of a dead-end street
The lamps above sucking the warmth out of my skin
The green of algae blooms painted across my cheeks
Look away
That isn’t blood at all
I tell myself
It is the sky water
Flowing from an angry god
A disappointed god
Tinged red by the ire of a sun scorned
Now is not the time, she tells me
You are still bleeding out.
