Glass Throat

You tip the glass Neck snaps thin A clear spine Holding everything Grains wait Like teeth in a jaw Each one hungry To grind you down You say I’ve got time But it’s standing there Bare and vertical Throat ready to pour Every grain is a second of your life Scraping past the narrow in your spine Hear it hiss Hear it chew through the light You don’t lose an hour You lose one tiny knife at a time Every grain is a second of your life Not a wave Just a million little bites You won’t hit the ending all at once You’ll arrive as dust On the floor of your own hourglass Top bulb bloated Swollen with “later” Birthdays Teeth Old receipts Stuck in the glitter Bottom bulb Clotted with “too late” Names you forgot Faces half-erased You flip your phone The glass flips you Your thumb scrolls While the sand comes through Every grain is a second of your life Scraping past the narrow in your spine Hear it hiss Hear it chew through the light You don’t lose an hour You lose one tiny knife at a time Every grain is a second of your life Not a wave Just a million little bites You won’t hit the ending all at once You’ll arrive as dust On the floor of your own hourglass There is no pause button Just slower avalanches You can turn the glass again But not reclaim the fallen Look close Each particle has your face Laughing Leaving Rotting in place (oh) Every grain is a second of your life Scraping past the narrow in your spine Hear it hiss Hear it chew through the light You don’t lose an hour You lose one tiny knife at a time Every grain is a second of your life Clinging to the curve Then it finally slides You won’t hit the ending all at once You’ll arrive as dust On the floor of your own hourglass (yeah)