<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta name="CCBot" content="nofollow" />
<meta name="robots" content="noai, noimageai" />
<meta name="tdm-reservation" content="1" />
<link rel="stylesheet" href="../style.css" />
<link rel="stylesheet" href="poem-style.css" />
<meta charset="UTF-8" />
<meta
name="description"
content="My name is nnwhen. I make music, soundtracks and other 'sound-based things'."
/>
<meta
name="keywords"
content="Soundtrack, Music Syncing, Movie Music, nnwhen, Sound Design, Sound Designer"
/>
<meta name="author" content="nnwhen" />
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
<meta
name="viewport"
content="height=device-height, width=device-width, initial-scale=1"
/>
<link
rel="icon"
href="../res/asset-sitewide-favicon.png"
type="image/icon type"
/>
<title>NN//P/Blackened Dust</title>
<meta property="og:title" content="Blackened Dust" />
<meta property="og:description" content="A poem by nnwhen" />
<meta
property="og:image"
content="https://www.nnwhen.com/res/img-offsite-preview.jpg"
/>
<meta property="og:url" content="https://www.nnwhen.com/" />
<meta property="og:locale" content="en_US" />
<meta name="twitter:title" content="nnwhen poem: Blackened Dust" />
<meta name="twitter:description" content="A poem by nnwhen" />
<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" />
<meta name="twitter:site" content="@nnwhen_" />
<meta name="twitter:creator" content="@nnwhen_" />
<meta
name="twitter:image"
content="https://www.nnwhen.com/res/img-offsite-preview.jpg"
/>
<meta
name="twitter:image:alt"
content="A dithered Peach and Maroon image of flowers superimposed ontop of a skyline photo"
/>
</head>
<body>
<a class="skip-to-content" href="#content-warnings">Skip to main content</a>
<header>
<div role="img" aria-label="nnwhen logo and banner" id="header-img-group">
<picture id="header-img-group-banner">
<source
srcset="../res/asset-sitewide-header-banner.avif"
type="image/avif"
/>
<source
srcset="../res/asset-sitewide-header-banner.webp"
type="image/webp"
/>
<img src="../res/asset-sitewide-header-banner.png" alt="" />
</picture>
<a aria-label="Return to the Homepage" href="../index.html">
<picture id="header-img-group-logo">
<source
srcset="../res/asset-sitewide-header-ennspace.avif"
type="image/avif"
/>
<source
srcset="../res/asset-sitewide-header-ennspace.webp"
type="image/webp"
/>
<img
src="../res/asset-sitewide-header-ennspace.png"
alt="Return to the Homepage"
/>
</picture>
</a>
</div>
</header>
<nav id="navigation">
<ul>
<li>
<a aria-label="Go Back to Homepage" href="../index.html">home</a>
</li>
<li>
<a aria-label="Listen to my music" href="../sound-design.html"
>music</a
>
</li>
<div aria-hidden="true" id="whitespace"></div>
<li>
<a
aria-label="The Hub that links to my Art, Poetry and Other-Media"
href="../archive.html"
>archive</a
>
</li>
<li>
<a aria-label="Go to my Blog" href="../blog/index.html">blog</a>
</li>
</ul>
</nav>
<aside id="socials">
<a
href="https://www.soundcloud.com/nnwhen"
target="_blank"
title="Soundcloud"
>
<img src="../res/asset-sitewide-nav-soundcloud.svg" alt="" />
</a>
<a href="https://nnwhen.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank" title="Bandcamp">
<img src="../res/asset-sitewide-nav-bandcamp.svg" alt="" />
</a>
<a
href="mailto:contact@nnwhen.com"
title="Email Me"
>
<img src="../res/asset-sitewide-nav-mail.svg" alt="" />
</a>
<a href="../socials.html" target="_blank" title="Other Socials">
<img src="../res/asset-sitewide-nav-at.svg" alt="" />
</a>
<a href="../feed.xml" target="_blank" title="RSS Feed">
<img src="../res/asset-sitewide-nav-rss.svg" alt="" />
</a>
</aside>
<section id="content-warnings">
<h1>Content Warnings</h1>
<ul>
<li>Familial Loss</li>
<li>Intrusive Thoughts</li>
<li>Political Persecution</li>
</ul>
</section>
<p class="back">
<a href="index.html" aria-label="Go back to poem-list">↵ Back</a>
</p>
<main id="poem">
<hr aria-hidden="true" />
<h1>Blackened Dust</h1>
<hr aria-hidden="true" />
<hr aria-hidden="true" />
<p>
It is entirely unassuming<br />
The heap of blackened dust sits ever-silent in the vase
</p>
<p>
The urge to blow it into a thin mist of ash up in the air arises<br />
I press it into the back of my skull
</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>The silence from it scares me</p>
<p>
He was never silent<br />
Never silent until now<br />
He never had so little passion<br />
Never so little until now<br />
He never stopped enriching our lives<br />
Never stopped until now
</p>
<p>
A rebellious child when rebelling against house rules makes for a
stressed mother<br />
When it's against the empire, it makes for a broken one
</p>
<p>
He knew he would get himself killed<br />
He knew the whole way through<br />
He knew it until he knew it firsthand
</p>
<p>He died knowing it</p>
<br />
<p>
I feel him comforting me: the ash smiles a sad smile to me<br />
The ash sighs a soft sigh to me<br />
The ash loves a soft love for me
</p>
<p>
I am beyond too old to continue what he started.<br />
My little body cannot hold his anger<br />
My bones too broken and too shrivelled to carry his weight<br />
I stand hunched and too short to fly his flag
</p>
<p>  However</p>
<p>
The young who surround me, their hands on my shoulders, their eyes on my
son in my hands.<br />
They are filled with his anger.<br />
Their bones are bolstered with his immense strength.<br />
They stand tall, bold and ready to fly his flag.
</p>
<p>
And in that moment I know the change my boy has brought.<br />
My boy sits in his vase and knows it too.
</p>
<hr />
</main>
<p class="back">
<a href="index.html" aria-label="Go back to poem-list">↵ Back</a>
</p>
<footer id="free">
<a href="../our-siblings.html"
>Free Our People</a
>
</footer>
</body>
</html>