Dirty

Written by Gabriella Troy
Art by Muffin Creatives

In the end we’re only dirt.
We cake each other’s arms
with smears of tears and promises,
with little scars that no one sees
but no one forgets.

This earth is a tether, and forever
I’ll tidy your distraction and detritus,
roll my eyes and make you breakfast;
you’ll hug me when I lose heart,
hate me just a smidgen and weave stories
to fill my silence.

You’ve seeped into my flesh
and I’m a ring of freckles upon yours,
but our love isn’t quite symbiotic.
You’re a condition of my survival
and I’m the benefactor of your success.

After our dreams have blossomed and withered
and our ashes are scattered together
on the wind, we’ll tangle in the skin
of another and dirty their beginning
with the science of liability.