Fire Island

The conflation of liberation
Turned to a conflagration of ashes
Bring me back to the motherland
Bring him back to the place he met Henry
Your spotlight island turned a different shade of red
And it makes you wonder when you will burn
Ghosts now walk the streets on which you took your masks off
Now those memories you wore as jewels on your crown and pearls on your gown have been steamrolled into clamshell cages
Your dancing shoes were replaced with hospital wheels
You still turn elegantly.
Nights of touch turned to burns
You thought closeness could not kill you
But until you've changed one of your friends diapers you do not know what true intimacy is
So when you must go
You will be surrounded by all the pretty things you once loved
Euthanized early in the evening
mourning in the morning
For our flaming fire island turned to ash