i carry the insignia
of your memory
like the equation
etched in efflorescence
of a red brick porch step
of the hovel that housed
my childhood
keeping innocence
untainted

i carried your scent
in a satchel
no larger than
a pocketwatch
dangling from the neck
in plain sight
where others complained
it made for painful
adornment
pulling me low
like a light boulder

i am carrying
an arrow quiver
which Eros
emptied into me
in recovery
for heart sickness
though no vaccination
save disconnecting
the patient
is an antibiotic
worth injecting

whereas before
i wanted only
to curry favor
this flavor of nostalgia
once a gastric flame
burning my abdomen
is now slowly dying light
squelched out
from rapid
atmoshperic ascent
dead from absence
of oxygen

Prometheus has ceased
sparking civilization
mere carcass meeting vulture
littering the landscape
of memory
deteriorating
in this corridor
of consciousness.