Falling, Slowing, Flying
Today
all was usual a hot July afternoon
there were streams of poplar seeds on side streets
he had been thinking about what she had said
What is not spoken is unspoken often
Cutting for more precision on the index finger
the splinter could not be removed
He showed her in the shade to see her
reaction to what he had been thinking the sun
against the cloudless sky
neither of them resting just yet
In the small park
it felt as if the earth opened for them
as they passed into the sky he had to ask her
if this were flying or
Always having seen her walk
which set her to song her voice as haunting
as her shining black hair his gait as heavy
The statue poised
the inscription readable though weathered illegible away
the trees majestic silent waiting on the edge
restless perpetrators the heat unwilling to relinquish
Locked in world time zones
they talked and then fought and then talked
and fought and it was like that relentless rehearsed
She would appear central in his thoughts then go off
on her own meanwhile everyone but themselves
continued planning cities far away
Eating ice cream with plastic spoons
he had no idea how to die kept living
turning away from the air
I don't care he lied I know you do
she insisted listen just listen yes and no
to change it does matter into what
The longer one lived the less it matters
A young family intruded the baby
betrayed his eyes he thought more about after
when a stenciled girl held a red helium heart
on the portal of hospice
They wore the scent of Paris burning
He drove He said nothing She in the backseat
He glanced between the houses catching the river
It was still the canopy of foliage
forced him to look down
he dared not share the tunnel of love
Her bags zipped shut full of yesterday's possessions
held the young child's question
How do you become a butterfly
When you want to fly so much you stop being a caterpillar
all was usual a hot July afternoon
there were streams of poplar seeds on side streets
he had been thinking about what she had said
What is not spoken is unspoken often
Cutting for more precision on the index finger
the splinter could not be removed
He showed her in the shade to see her
reaction to what he had been thinking the sun
against the cloudless sky
neither of them resting just yet
In the small park
it felt as if the earth opened for them
as they passed into the sky he had to ask her
if this were flying or
Always having seen her walk
which set her to song her voice as haunting
as her shining black hair his gait as heavy
The statue poised
the inscription readable though weathered illegible away
the trees majestic silent waiting on the edge
restless perpetrators the heat unwilling to relinquish
Locked in world time zones
they talked and then fought and then talked
and fought and it was like that relentless rehearsed
She would appear central in his thoughts then go off
on her own meanwhile everyone but themselves
continued planning cities far away
Eating ice cream with plastic spoons
he had no idea how to die kept living
turning away from the air
I don't care he lied I know you do
she insisted listen just listen yes and no
to change it does matter into what
The longer one lived the less it matters
A young family intruded the baby
betrayed his eyes he thought more about after
when a stenciled girl held a red helium heart
on the portal of hospice
They wore the scent of Paris burning
He drove He said nothing She in the backseat
He glanced between the houses catching the river
It was still the canopy of foliage
forced him to look down
he dared not share the tunnel of love
Her bags zipped shut full of yesterday's possessions
held the young child's question
How do you become a butterfly
When you want to fly so much you stop being a caterpillar
