Smoke Show

We engage with the world,

Our hands stumbling through

Grasping and dropping,

Finding sharp edges

We thought soft,

Finding the end of a rope

We thought longer-

We feel the rush of wind

Across skin

And smell the burning

Of a field we never enjoyed-

We listen to the crackle of the flame,

Heart thumping

As the acrid smoke fills lungs

Never meant to breathe in

The stress of a society crumbling,

Our heartbeats count

The lives lost-

The souls fighting for better-

The bitter edge of disappointment

Sits upon our tongue

Turning all thoughts of progress

To poison as we wait

For the fire to burn itself out-

We have been taught

To stand by,

In a world less than fit

For the inhabitants stumbling through,

Swallowing glass instead of speaking-

Cutting out tongues instead of providing

The truth that needs to be screamed-

Terror the only food

That fills empty bellies-

A trick played,

Beyond the smoke show.

Katrina Thornley is a nature poet. novelist, and freelance journalist that resides in Rhode Island. She has two poetry collections currently published, a novel, as well as a short story anthology. Her poetry collections "Arcadians: Lullaby in Nature" and "Arcadians: Wooden Mystics" were inspired by a local park and life in her small rural town. You can find them on Amazon now!

To join her mailing list click here!

Interested in finding more reads? Click here for more information!