Once I had a heart, 
but life stole it away. 
The stress of spending 
seconds counting sighs 
down to abyssal eyes — 
peace, a waste of time. 

I used to be a dreamer, 
but shame came of desire, 
clouding all my visions 
until the stratus sky 
suffocated my lies 
overhead and inside. 

"Serve, serve, serve!" the seagulls demand, 
leaving me a severed shell of sand. 

Preview from my upcoming 2023 collection The Soul Without A Summer