Fitting through the bottleneck

I lost my dream just short of the

Length of your hair, amber and burnt

By God’s favorite fireplace,

Laid across the chests

Of newborn children to show

Them the best that this world

Has to offer and what they should hope for.

Chopped up,

Melted into medicines as the cure for

Insomnia, ulcers, and a broken heart.

Mother always warned this day

Would come.

A single thought could slink

Down the staircase of my mind,

Check each door in the hall

And find them all unlocked and

Eager for the warmth it brings.

Like Apollo in his chariot,

Carrying the very power

Of the sun into the darkest caves

That I have chiseled out

Year-by-year-by-hand-by-hand.