Mandala

a
I listen
to the rain
and the midnight
sweepers
brushing away
the debris
of the day.


I taste
the bitterness
on my lips
& swallow
the absinthe
of your absence.


I inhale
the smoke
of my Gehenna,
letting it fill
the void
in my lungs.


I see
my reflection
in the darkened
window
and rejoice
in the stranger
smiling back.


I touch
all the places
you have claimed,
lulling myself
to sleep
& stretching
to the ends
of the night.
a