A-Z Poem by Ben Partenay

you lose a fight
then two, then three
tongues throw words like tiny stones
you drag home tattered bits of hope
and wrap your wounds with them

nights pass by
you lose another fight, lose
another friend, another night
the sky spits shooting stars
that never grant a wish

you go on
keep walking, burying bits of you
in basements and empty bottles
you hold a hand to your chest
make sure the heart’s still beating

then you win a fight
then two, then three
cement sets inside, no more soft
you wonder how anyone could be so weak
how cement could ever be liquid

how soon you forget
those stones have made
a mountain