Shane Koyczan
The Student
I don’t believe in them
but, somewhere there are gods hiding inside of their own heads
using all of their might trying to stop their own eardrums
from pounding out the sound of your name
You are lightning trying to tame thunder
leaving split second scars against the sky
as if you were breaking the skin of something that won’t die
My first instinct is the same as my second
strongly reinforced as if by diamond sheeting
that donated its glimmer to charity so that it can look dull and tough
A shine now scuffed as if the world left a bruise on light
I fight my instinct long enough to realize that I won’t win
I give in surrendering to an impulse
somewhat believing that my imprisonment will not involve torture
if I can confess everything I know
I know nothing

I bring an emptiness to your need
like a dog laying a skeleton at your feet
bone by bone
I lay stone all around you in a circle,
as if any moment you will burst into flame
and warm us long enough so that I can tell you my ghost story
But part of me still haunts my memory
It throws chairs against my mirrored mind
cracking the reflections in which I once thought I would find answers
if I reflect long enough
There will be answers
But like mail on a Sunday none came
So I sit before flowers hoping they will train me in the art of opening up
I stand on mountain tops believing that avalanches will teach me to let go
I know nothing
but I am here to learn