Petrification

 

some say it takes a lot of things
to break you down
but when it is given from above
one time - without justification
is all it takes to break
your world
when above
is where you only look

& more times
are sure to follow
as the hunter stalks prey
& this one time
is all it takes
to allow more of the same

the chocks beneath the wheels
have been removed
have disappeared, like so much dust
to set in motion
this caboose of pain
      careening down your life
      a drunken master steering

these are the cards
we're dealt
dispassionately
objectively, almost

like so much propagation
in a petrii dish of sorts
     a la bacterium
     this roll of the dice.