Editors' Choice in Poetry: Rot

ROT

By Torrie Herrington

what a wonderful feeling it is to rot

from the inside out, like a gourd

six months past Halloween,

but for some reason, im still displayed on the porch

-

im not sure why they keep me around

maybe as a reminder of how time destroys a person

guts ripped from my core for your enjoyment

set me on fire for a night

how pretty i sit on the steps

but once im blown out

and the night is passed

i am no use to you

-

let me slowly die here as you walk by every day

you could stop the pain

you could throw me away

or bury me in the ground,

use me for compost,

make any use of me,

give me something to die for

but you chose to watch me rot