Ophelia

Ophelia



Ophelia skates across a frozen pond
absorbed by the rock-hard haziness
of her reflection

Ordained to be damned for spite
for what little is relinquished
not sacrificed

Persistence is the thing
blades scraping in solitude
through the early morning air

Riding the cracks between
that which is absorbed and that
which is distinct

I know too well to watch her -
but for the cold, I could
drown in understanding

I tell myself this and
relinquish all claims
on bliss

We stand upon a face
no longer our own
unable to touch it

Even as it suffers our dismay
we suffer only ourselves
and share so little.