Stolen

In this moment I refuse the darkness
Lost in the background of a life well-lived,
Dusty pictures and lost years
I sit. Meditate.

Soft voices from a room far away
Well removed from the jungles I traverse
Concrete cities, mighty Africa
This is my safe space.

A legend lies prostrate.
Head back, eyes closed
A giant sleeps.

In dreams, she loses herself
Times passed, loves lost
In a dream
She weeps

I find strength in flame
Fee
Fi
Burn.
They call dismay
Linger in heat
...miles away
Smoke signs disfigure hidden smiles

Though you hold darkness in your palm
Loading chambers
With broken switches
Gunshots of fear
My light is bulletproof

And under a flickering lamppost, cheeks turned to disregard and stinging wind
I remember my smile

I will swallow my pride
I will swallow my vanity
I will swallow your travesty
But I hide my smile behind a swollen cheek
and when your back is turned
I convulse with untamed joy.

So
If you think that the anarchy
Of your moth-eaten trivialities
can dismantle the foundations that I
bled to built
cried to keep
You are mistaken.