i am used
to standing
in storms
my heart has
always been a
lightning rod
while my brain
is in a constant
flux of high
and low patterns
leaving me uncertain
at the best of times

you cannot hope
to control the weather
chaos is beyond
the keen of mortals
we just ride from
one disaster to another
hoping the sunshine
dries us off before
we are inevitably
thrown into the storm
to flail once more

i would give my life
to protect my loved ones
from incidental lightning
even as fresh strikes
ignite inside my skull
scarring gray matter
leaving furrows in
the ivory penitentiary
housing the most foolish
of all systemic storms