cyh 

i could end the world 

 

if i had to & end the world for the people

i cherish the most         people that stabbed

me with their broken shards almost as much

as i choke them with my words

 

i could end the world-

 

snap brittle bones in half like styrofoam

from cardboard boxes & pop my lungs 

like the air sockets from plastic bags 

 

i could end the world

 

in half a millisecond          just enough time

to squeeze formulated gases out of my lungs

& rewind old cassette tapes, watch life

bleed out onto the page & drown in memories

 

i could end the world 

 

if i wanted to         society says there are only

four ways to die:     a) oxygen starvation

                                b) high temperature

                                c) chemical toxin

                                d) physical damage

                                e) all of the above

 

but i know that i will die in history as the

girl who made the fifth, stain the family

legacy with shame that cannot be purged

 

i could end the world

 

    a beautiful thing,

           the only thing society gives me control over