USELESS HANDS

Arrogant hands
used to turn
dirt into gold
and to me that felt great.
So much power
in knowing that life
was all mine for the taking.
I grabbed at the chance
and threw out the ones
I thought were mistakes.
I pawed at the highest
and brightest statues
that knew their beauty.
I brushed off the little things
and held tightly
to the rocks before me.
Then one day,
a curse befell these little hands
without a warning.
The gold became
a sticky mess
that turned my fingers yellow.
Time slipped from my hands
and pushed the turn of fate.
Mistaken grasps
and I fell head first
into the darkness of despair.
Nothing to feel
and no other hands
that I can reach for.
Now to count
incessantly
the empty days ahead.


~ Marilen J. Sarian