Fingerprint Failure
published in The Blue Nib Literary Magazine
poetry
I narrate each word
as if it will vanish
without a trace then steal my heart
from here or weight my will
with cares too heavy
for this path I tread.
If memory crowns a human’s venture
then loss of it fills
an angry grave and deepens darkness.
When I lapse my cupped hands trail
the Lethe
the sweet waters tempting me
with the drink of Unmindfulness.
When amnesia steals my recollection
I will lose love that might remain with remembrance.
Should Mnemosyne hear me cry
while under the power of reason still
like a woman mourning
sagging skin or fingerprint failure
I shun the forgetting of ills
the rest from sorrow
the elimination of my narration.
Muses, have mercy
I own these tales.