My mouth is on fire.
I no longer have a face.
I’m taking a vow of silence.
I’m allergic to words.
To be honest mate you’ve done the bare minimum
and I’m struggling to juggle everything in my life
right now and it wasn’t planned to not say thank you
I just had to get into the café quickly and sort
something out that I’m not quite prepared to share
with a stranger and I just hope you have the patience
for another human who you don’t know if their life
is falling apart or not.
I didn’t see you there.

Carl Burkitt 2024