of dust and no dreams

it is hard to hold to human form

on a night like this

dust blanketing everything, loss of stars

too warm, too thirsty

water cannot soothe a throat

raw with regret, with summer

it is hard to remain prone,

a bipedal thing with skin and

nails and teeth when everything

demands flight

the dust seeps from my eyes

i try to unsee the deserted room

the blankets tangled, cast aside

the sheets scoured by nailed fingers

scratching against the coffin

of warm, still air

on a night such as this

everything wants to dive

through endless blue anything

the blankets snake around my waist

they wrap around my shoulders

an ecosystem of sweat and misery

of thirst and the night undressed

by light, always a distant light

creeping through the window with

the dust that abrades my throat

coats my eyes

when morning arrives

it is hard to tell the difference

it is hard to wake, to walk

and all the while try not to see

the sky