my firespit slicks bridges
for miles, i swear to you—

i am through with structures
that seek only to support

their kin. if my refusal
to go on like this forever

means i must build a town
of my own edifices, so be it.

i want baby blue and cotton
candy pink banners strung

up between the bank
and the fire station. i want

no cops, including the ones
in your head. in chemistry

class, we mixed metals
with bunsen burner flames,

made a rainbow of elements.
may copper and rubidium

ions decide to salt the surface
of this planet, cause a flurry

of proud flames when
the first molotov cocktail hits

the spans. i am past renewal,
past peaceful assimilation;

we must destroy to rebuild 
a world that could hold us.

---

nat raum is a disabled artist, writer, and genderless disaster based on unceded Piscataway and Susquehannock land in Baltimore. They’re the editor-in-chief of fifth wheel press and the author of the abyss is staring back, random access memory, camera indomita, and others. Find them online at natraum.com.