Strange nights become cold days
slow change like the sun burns out
banished from the forefront
yet from your taped up cardboard box
you toss charred pitches
from the back of my thoughts
catching me unawares at the worst times
sending twitchy malaise surging down my spine
the sound of your name aching like a phobia
like looking down from a great height
or glimpsing a needle piercing the skin.
I burnt you in my mind
but you writhe among the ashes
like a sick phoenix.