Replica

A poem

Photo by Masha Zubareva

Ripped,
unequipped,
my heart lags behind
this world
stripped of you.

Your essence,
atrophied
from my present,
lingers in the corners
of my absent mind,
clouds every glance,
crowds every step
with a scrap
of you.

Chemicals–
chaotic­–
crack my skull cell,
quash my will,
shove the red pill
of reality
down my throat.

I ventured
into the non-adventure,
into the hollow space
of senseless days
and dreary nights.

Clawing my way
through sorrow–
plenty,
no need to borrow–
I look up to the sky,
to the sun,
and bump into
your image
mixed into each layer
of this rigid
replica
of life.

© Masha Zubareva 2024

My sincere gratitude to Scuzzbucket and its editor for holding this space for self-expression.