i have started sketching
using charcoals
for heavy shading
the kind that leaves
your fingers blackened
smudges on your cheeks
like a chimney sweep
after a long shift
a coal miner
after sixteen tons
each new piece of art
using
the charred remains
of former loves
of former lives
of former frames of mind
to add depth
to the shallow recesses
of my vacant mind

in the end
no matter how hard
the pencil strokes
or softy rubbed the charcoal
they all end up
looking like sketches

of you