Sciences Participating with Arts & Culture in Education

The Ashes Uprising

Illustrated by ELYANA SCERBO-PASTA

Pour me something stronger.

Your thoughts are fool’s paradise flowing

from whiskey tampered lips.

Take a shot to brace you.

The roaring cold is descending upon Montreal.

At night we dance in the apartment hallway

just outside the confines of our lives.

We lock eyes at the center

of the storm and there is an enchanting calm

a streak of rain. Everybody becomes

but a blur in the wake of chaos.

A hand lingering on my thigh.

Like the votive candle

it will burn me down.

In the ashes uprising

you mistake my kindness for weakness

a virtue that shall not be exploited.

Shoulder to shoulder, fight the good battle.

Unclasp the rivets that bind our hearts too tight

for where the smooth runs jagged

soft souls crystallize.

Pour me something stronger.

The amber glass is half full.

Can you chase this hurt?

Ice the oldest bruises.