Poem by Beatrice Preti – c2017
Photograph by Darwin Chan – c2018

i am the monster who steals the light

whenever i speak, all hope takes flight

i watch it escape, watch it grind into dust

i watch the hearts freeze, then wildly combust

it’s a balloon that i’ve popped, another flat tire

their eyes are all dead. i’ve put out their fires.

i’ve sent their souls south, now they’re trapped in hell

and i am just speaking to corpses, to shells

i feel like a demon for causing this pain

but each single visit is always the same

i watch as they cry, as they shout, as they scream

i know i’m the water which extinguished their dreams

and when they are empty and their light is all gone

i rise from the ashes and swiftly move on

but they won’t move on. no, i’ve drowned their desire.

i’m a fireman in scrubs. i’ve put out their fires.