drip drip drip drip
opened wounds infect murky soil
a vanquished corpse poisoning each leaf
and branch
and trunk
with sour taste and rotten aroma
a dead core bringing no heat
streams and lakes with
heavy waters
impossible to swim
nights an hour shorter
days two hours longer
the decayed crops and perverse time
merely widened the hole
in a vengeful heart
a world cursed
and sick
and broken
a cure unknown

yet they find reason to persist
and keep on living
on an earthly cadaver