Cynthia J. Lee

Molecular Weight

“n.: the weight of a molecule that may be calculated as the sum
of the atomic weights of its constituent atoms- ”

gray silt, finest powder
of bone and building—
flesh and steel fuse, fall
from autumn’s sky

horror etches the faces
of unwilling watchers—
their unbidden tears
an ancient offering
of salt
to the surprised dead

humanity vaporizes into soot,
breathed in by passersby—
as if lives hurl into death
so fast they leave
a molecular trail—

particulate of matter
and memory,
clinging to other souls
in a final, futile grasp—
unwilling to leave