a necessary violence (poem)

my brother and i bear a face that we can’t remove

his beauty reeks of a lineage sullied

so i treat his eyes like the sun

they hold me in warmth, thick and honey-sweet,

but the fire behind them is one i know

it gave all the scars to my heart and left my flesh cold.

i crossed seas just to touch the flame

a whisper said they’d lick me with salvation

we sat on the shore and he taught me to count the waves 

one, two, three, four

there are tears my brother and i can’t shed

so we count God’s tears instead 

he shows me his escape routes

but we don’t talk of what we’re running from

i hear all the words he won’t say in the wind 

i taste the blood of his enemies on my own lips

the same blood that makes us kin

i crossed seas just to touch the flame

i returned as ashes

saltwater can’t quench my thirst

or piece together my fragments

the moon is so pretty and so meek,  

with a dark side we don’t ever see.

i fear its face like i fear my own, 

with all its craters

i should break my bones, 

shed all my layers,

but the world doesn’t want to see the gore of these wars

they don’t want bombs bursting in air

just send thoughts and prayers. 

one day there will be a tsunami

a necessary violence 

my brother and i will scoop with a cup 

and sip

one, two, three, four

we’ll swallow our rage, crumble the sky, scorch the earth,

and in our hearts there will finally be silence.