Red.
\nGreen.
\nSteel.
\nWood.
\nAbout, smell the ash, 6:24?
\nIt was a Wednesday, or a Thursday
\nNo.<\/p>\n
A Wednesday
\nThough the date wasn\u2019t exactly on my mind
\nI wasn\u2019t expecting to remember that night
\nOrder. Ash. Dough.
\nSame old, same old<\/p>\n
Ceiling vents long since aged, exhausted
\nMe, exhausted
\n6 years and 6 hours unreplaced, respectively
\nSauced covered cuticles, ash coating the sweat lined hairs of my forearms
\nAs I drew another pizza from the stone
\nLike the fire was all I knew, come nightfall I was used to it
\nAnother call, always business<\/p>\n
But not this one
\nThe cord, a spiral constricting boa
\nSuffocating me before I even knew
\nThe Manager\u2019s wife spoke with her eyes first
\n\u201cIt\u2019s for you\u201d<\/p>\n
A pizza began to burn
\nMy mouth was already dry
\nI\u2019d never forget the taste
\nAnd while I held the call, my hand shaked<\/p>\n
Was it my mother?
\nNo, she spoke to me and assured me herself
\nShe had not been harmed
\nMy arms stiffened
\nThe phone dropped from my hand like a barbell<\/p>\n
I turned to see my boss at my side, the vents struggling for air
\n\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong,\u201d he asked me
\n\u201cI need a breather,\u201d I said
\n\u201cMy brother took some medicine and now he\u2019s unwell.\u201d
\nBut Covid was a threat still then, and I had money I needed to earn
\nSo I can only imagine what it was like for him
\nThe silence in the hospital room that night<\/p>\n
But I\u2019m sure its not the silence he had expected to hear<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Red. Green. Steel. Wood. About, smell the ash, 6:24? It was a Wednesday, or a Thursday No. A Wednesday Though the date wasn\u2019t exactly on my mind I wasn\u2019t expecting to remember that night Order. Ash. Dough. Same old, same old Ceiling vents long since aged, exhausted Me, exhausted 6 years and 6 hours unreplaced,… <\/p>\n