An Alembic on the Threshold
I sing as your body shuts down,
watch the doors of your mind
fly off their hinges
a white sun pulsing through your eyes,
your chest an alembic,
gathering you with each breath you suck in,
I witness your birth as you die
as you drag on your last breath, elated,
finally fully alive
and you don’t expire, but hold
the breath and take wing
as I gaze into your brilliant face on the bed
not knowing you’ve left, mesmerised.
Shortlisted for The Wells Festival of Literature Open Poetry Competition 2021
