6.18.21
I am copper
Brass forged by a fire that refuses to cease
Ravenous and restless
raised in cold blood
I lie awake, burning
and yet I am so drained
I have been made new
extracted ashes of the last war
charred with dirt, blood and tears
I am of a thousand fallen
embodied beneath my armor
I am the voice of those before me
You tell me I am so strong
as if that is supposed to consolidate motivation within me
you look to me
for the things you don't have in yourself
I am your warrior, you say.
you idolize the fire you've left in my eyes
from above ground,
you look down at me
you say I am your holy grail
in the poison you've planted
I cannot grow in rancorous terrains
I will not spew
the venom you forced me to chew
I have been painted into your fantasy
you see me as your fighting vessel
you tell me
I am an unfulfilled prophecy
I am only to be what you want me to be
you see my blood ribbed scars
you say that I will not perish
yet you cower behind me
How selfish it is to claim that I,
I am meant to fight for every breath I take
that I am meant to wage wars I did not craft
that I am meant to start wildfires and chaos
and you call me your savior
because you expect
that I am fighting your battles
You say that I am so strong
but I am no soldier of yours
I will not salute, or commend your sins
and I will not continue to fight your wars
My bones are not meant
to go through a series of breaking and tearing
for somebody that refuses to get up and fight their own
Tell me,
do you hold the weight of the roaring, seething fire
or, are you just another flame,
licking the ground I walk?
