Manzanita

Like that ugly tree,
i'm broken
peeling away at the surface
deep red is the color behind my eyes
and my mind
feels no respite from the chill
on a mountaintop in the endless night
I twist and turn
like some dream about the truth
like branches on a bitter tree
manzanita, failed life
keeps pushing roots into rocky soil
with no nutrients
keep snaking its ugly crown of heads
around the air, sniffing for
the smallest trace of vitality
but finds itself a living corpse already
emtombed in one place
freezing air and vultures
everywhere
manzanita, poor dear
true natural selection would have
steamrolled you so throroughly.