“Hell Flowers” by Kazuya Akimoto
see me as I am
eyes won’t suffer
from the sight
red and raw
skin afire
the arson of age
burns from
inside the nerves
melting myelin
drips from old
photographs
cracked in the
creases that smile
through flames
I need no one to
pity my pictures
all men wear
a future the past
could not see
whether better
or worse time
adds parts to a man
and his personal
pain cannot ever
outlive him
see me as I am
not the man
I had been nor
the one you imagine
reach into my fire
touch the scars
where they blaze
mapping wounds
cruel inflicted by
weapons of mind
ugly beauty exists
in the flesh
of this world
don’t turn from it
don’t let the smoke
veil your vision
with tears
all fire like life
is ephemeral
give me a place
in your memory
cool and correct
of identity give
me that chance for
my truth to survive
From my books Ephemera and Legacies (vol. 2)
Poesy plus Polemics 
‘Give me a place in your memory…’ I think that says it all that any person might want come the end game.
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glad that it worked for you
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“give
me that chance for
my truth to survive” – killer ending!
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many thanks, jeni
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“all men wear / a future the past / could not see” – stunning lines, my friend . . .
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I appreciate your kind words
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Yes and amen, Paul. Your truth will survive. Amazing picture.
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such is my hope
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