“How often
does it seem
that I try
to speak the
words of not
okay, of
not alright,
only to find
they stick to
my insides,
digging down,
burrowing
hard within?
So instead
I wheeze and
gasp and smile
despite the
burning up,
the burning
alive, oh -
I look you
in the eye
and cry, the
tears wetting
my cheeks (I
am blazing -
can you see?)
Ash coats my
every organ,
smoke plumes through
my lips to
form the lie:
"I am fine.”