lock away every sin against fragility stack upon stack
inside great towers like time compartmentalizing
the compounding sounds of nascent hostility
from the acrid smell of fear

I am building a city, you know...

hemming in every needling derision that slips subtly under thickened skin

binding up every bludgeoning chill that hits the bone and ensures I'm broken in

In the heat of blood I am a silent guardian
standing this show trial by fire

--a living flame burning an invisible garden of stone