HOURGLASS

I have sand throughout my mouth

fine flecks of white and gold

stuck between every one of my crooked teeth

coating my tongue

scratching my lips

settling soundly in the back of my throat

I have sand lining my stomach

and sitting heavy in my lungs

I’m coughing up dust with every word

with every breath

my hands and feet drag

my toes and fingers buzz

I have sand in each of my eyes

like dead, glittering stars

reflecting off some midnight oasis

in an empty desert

somewhere desolate, dark, and vanished

and completely, entirely alone

I have sand in every part of me

and it’s always crumbling away

crumbling through the cracks faster than I can catch

but it never runs out

I’m still choking

stuck suffocating

how is it that it never runs out?