Lost One Soul

I lost my soul in a fit of temper
I threw it at somebody’s head
and slammed out
without a second thought

Then I dumped it in a wastebin
along with a love I said I was finished with

I sandpapered my spirit
with a million
bitter barbs
and sent it into orbit
and substituted
guilt instead

My soul went cold
with memories of old friends and kin
who never expected
to be neglected,
and resolutions
I’d eluded

Then one day
I went to feed it
and it was gone

and now I hear it howling

in the wind outside
in the nights
in the hills
and I get the chills inside
and hide
in something that’s not important

and it’s four in the morning
before I can get warm enough
to weep enough
to fall asleep

-Sandy McIntosh-