holding the awakening morning

in a vise like life’s last grip

a stripped down version of loneliness

assuaged and lit from within

an empty bottle with a story to tell

hell is forgotten as feelings subside

lie to me if that’s what makes you happy

I’m resigned to the emotional indifference of the moment

a flat tire banging on an empty rainy highway

a grainy reckoning of what I meant to say

deny the day, forget the fray, remember

september flipped the hourglass her way