Chipped Poem by Maya Hanson

It's easier to burn than melt…
that's why I'm standing so messy
in front of this smoke-stained sky.

The air is hot coffee
smoldering in my veins
since I can't face the ground
that trips me even at my best.

Wasting colors, don't worry
if the stars are just rhythms now
not explosions we can chase.

Chipped concrete is all I want coating
the nails I've waited too long to cut,
the eyes that break stares even when I want to hold them-
this cracked ground is my favorite part of skygazing.

I wish I could be simple but
this place is far from simple
so I breathe in the choking hazards
and take them as part of the view.