A Straw Man by Adam Steiner

​A Straw Man

draw a line through
broken rules 
laddering limbs stretch
hard-won cage
etched by index,
a tree to outlive
 its bark,
thread frayed into sparks.
The way a sickness
Spreads you
Invisibly thin,
Across a hurt
That hurts
Everywhere.
Tired constellations bloom brighter,
twice re-scored,
A saw-tooth grin chews tides 
through wax’s restless uniform.
Stand before a pause
At dog-end axis 
hours tick close toward
the world twist-turning
heavy on its heel
as Ares unto Mars,
making war upon a full stop,
proud as the nail bears 
every measure’s repetition
driven beyond gravity.

Bio: Adam Steiner's poetry and fiction appear in I Am Not A Silent Poet, Rockland Lit, Proletarian Poetry, The Next Review, Fractured Nuance zine. He recently completed the Disappear Here project to produce a series of poetry films about Coventry ringroad. He tweets @BurndtOutWard

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