Trauma Tiles

age bears no witness to youth

young owes nothing to age

we co-exist in mutually exclusive territories

when convenient and reluctantly

notice each other when not;

we sleep in separate corners of the room

in which we might be working

like ceiling tiles or bathroom tiles

waiting to be installed by experts,

knowing there are none on site;

we tolerate nothing outside of

insufferable intimidation, feeling

our way along the trauma tiles

without knowing how we feel

or why or if we even should, yet

here we are and we do feel, but hopefully

not for long and we can return

to our mutual discontent and our

exclusive thoughts that will never

be shared, at least, in our lifetimes.

19May16