An Arsonist’s Firework Display

a brain shivers

left air drying on the floor

                    pulses echo within

but cannot fill the emptiness

—

the beat resonates

projecting an image on the ceiling

            ingrained by memory

which outglows the flipped negative

flashing on the back wall

a shadowed skull

—

hold onto odd naivety

old black and white film

    not bought then

    forgotten

photo booth prints

—

our sepia apartment holds warmth

like a shabby afghan

lost like a wisp of steam from a worn mug

—

left hanging like firework fumes

after the clumsy plummet of china

it chokes seoul

but what a magnificent final­e

—

Flashes of

  the present

                obscured by the smoke

                unfocused on the boney screen

        flicker with a simper