on this ash-smothered road,
at the top of a dead hill
there is no punctuation
some red corrections
smeared with bitten fingers,
pressed harsh into yellowed pages
and the year I left
wells up like poisoned water
on the verge of overflow.
step back, look away
from the brink, from the brimming.
I leave no stone unmarked
while evening's ink spills and splashes
around this circle gouged out of light.
Written for Marian's musical prompt at the Imaginary Garden with Real Toads.
