A Memento Mori

Look there, at the end of the highway,

Rising from the earth, hands reaching to the heavens,

Both arms extended by the sides, looking up

While grounded down;

Stuck

In the inconspicuous hands of destiny.

I walked among their ruins, the wind

Powering the windmills' voices,

Soaring softly, surfing and surpassing the soothing silence

Of the calm evening breeze.

Mother and daughter, together.

Your husband said how much he loved you.

Same date, same place,

The same face, running at the same pace,

Unable to escape

The treacherous grip of destiny.

This one's been around

Almost for a hundred years.

No windmills, just dead leaves,

There's no lifting up the spirit;

Alone, so alone,

Alone for the hundred years to come.

Wife and husband, together,

Until death does them apart

(And it will do them apart),

Watch what you leave behind.

It's all so quiet, can you hear?

The moon is climbing

Right when the sky is clearing.

Feel the grass beneath your feet,

Watch your step and mind your head.

The windmills spin around and around

With their constant ticking sound;

Does it remind you of

The unerring touch of death?

That's all it takes, after all,

That's all it takes to bring us here;

Me, above, and themselves underneath.

At the end of the highway, together;

Equals, friends, or maybe just casual acquaintances,

Waiting for the handshake, the grip, the touch,

The polite words of agreeability

(Or the cursing words of strong capability)

And the last, final embrace to stop you

Dead

On your tracks

And the wind won't blow

And the evil spirits will lurk

And you'll see how much you trust

The ones who will look at you from above.

See if they brush the dead leaves away,

I've heard it's normal to be afraid.

Meet your neighbours, neighbours for eternity;

Do you think they have some good amenities?

Mother, daughter, wife and friend

All your pieces will meet together in the end.

Second Bests

For my only best

As if the moon one day looked down upon me

And suddenly said "Hey, it's you again",

And then called me by my name.

As though the sun didn't come out to intrude

As bright and burning as he does

And let me enjoy the moon as two close friends

Who know each other's name.

As if the dust made it's way through the room

Dragged around by the wind and away from me,

And helped me keep these nostrils clear

As the moon looks down and says "you're here";

Clean and fresh the air I'm breathing in.

Just like the last remaining seat during the morning ride,

Like getting coffee later as a reward,

Like the smell of freshly-cut grass

Or the look of freshly-cut grass

And the sound of music in my head;

(The music you've picked out for me instead)

Like the satisfaction of knowing I was right,

Like the satisfaction of knowing you were right

Like the satisfaction of knowing we are right

And will continue to be right

For each other, by each other's side,

No matter how many miles apart.

As if the moon had suddenly learned my name;

As if the sun had decided to give me a break,

And the dust had joined in as well.

Like finding an empty seat as though it was reserved for me,

Like the taste of coffee instead of your lips,

Like the smell and look of grass;

You certainly must know

That these are all my second bests.

September 1st

For the love of my life

I love the silent hour of the night

When the streetlight shines bright through my window pane

And it makes the branches look like hands

But the hands keep trying to break in through the glass

In this silent hour of the night

Which wouldn't be so silent

If the sound of silence were instead the silence of your absent heartbeat

Tapping along to the rhythm of the fingers at the window

And the flickering rhythm of the streetlight

To the rhythm of the curtain swinging with the wind

I love the scent of dew in the morning

As the sun comes out yet one more time

To remind me how it comes out here to take your place

As the grass grows more and more each day

And it seems it never stops

What does that remind you of?

The dew-covered grass protects it all

Where we could run and I could see

The colour of the sky inside your eyes

As the sun comes out yet one more time

And I wish it was you I feel, instead of dew

Running slowly through my hair and never letting go

I love the sight of the wind blowing gently through the branches  

(The ones that kinda look like hands)

It dances and whispers "it's me, I'm here"

And stares at them in the eye

Those hands, those limbs, those leaves

And it seems to say "it's me, I'm here"

(But it doesn't ever hold these hands)

Would you hold my hand if it was you, the wind, and me instead?

I love to feel the raindrops in my hands

As it pours and pours and pours

Forming rivers down the street

And it feels as though it'll never stop

And I hope it'll never stop

When it pours it pours it pours

While we dance out in the street

And it reaches out for you and me

I love the taste of sugar at dessert

Because it only gets better every time

Futile as it were to try to stop it

But I promise I'll always save you the last bit

The one that's the best of all any time

Only if you let me kiss it off of you afterwards

You see, I love the night, the dew

The wind and the rain

And the taste of sugar at dessert

But now I know that it is true

That in all these five, there's always you

For as much as this is true

I taste the sound of my own voice

Sometimes saying "please, don't go"

It feels as though it's pouring rain

Making soothing noises as it lands onto the dirt

But when the wind has blown

And taken away its voice

As soon as the dew ascends

Into the quietness of the night

We're the only thing that'll stay behind

For we've seen it, we've seen it all

Felt it and heard it all

And when time is done counting forward and decides to change its course

When it decides there's nothing left to come

We'll show it, and we will

We'll show it we were never gone

A Monologue Among the Ruins

This is not the place I used to know;

Since when has the curtain been hanging so low?

This is not the place I used to know;

This is not the place where we used to glow

Like the bright stars we used to think we were.

Even when the world intended to bring us down,

This is not the place where we used to try

And protest to make it the other way around.

This is not the place where we used to reign

Or dance or sing or scream

Or climb up the stairs into the unknown.

This is not our place, not anymore.

This is not where we used to make the others

Lend us their ears

To hear our speech.

Party Candy

There, at the bottom of a household platter

Topped off with a variety of brightly coloured candy

Lies the one that was just reserved for me;

Though it would take me a while to find it.

Is it green or is it blue?

Orange-scented, grapefruit flavoured?

Is it bright red, as to catch my eye

Right when I first glance at it?

“Tell me something! Give me a clue!”

But the rainbow candy don’t say as they do.

“One’s for you, and not but one,

If you find it, then it’s yours!”

Do I dare, then, take and try them all?

Knowing that whoever else comes after me

Might cry and scream and weep

At the last opportunity that I’ve just taken from them?

I reached for one, and as I ate it,

I changed my mind, and hear it screaming.

March 1st

For the love of my life 

So we could rave on, darling, you and I,
until the stars tick out a lullaby
about each cosmic pro and con;
nothing changes, for all the blazing of
our drastic jargon, but clock hands that move
implacably from twelve to one.

Breathe with me, my love,

For the night is falling down on us,

But do not fear the world once it gets dark;

Do not fear the silence of the night.

Do not fear the sound of the rolling tires on the humid pavement

After it has rained on us for days;

Instead, watch these flowers bloom despite the thorns,

Don’t think if you either wake or dream;

This is our truth right now, in spite of the stones.

Don’t think of the way the wind howls

As it blows between the leaves

Although it might not seem it’s undeserved;

Let the world keep on moving

As long as you and I get to stay

Together still for as long as it still matters:

Breathe with me, my love,

Come on over and drink

From this parting glass with me;

Come on over and know that
When I say I'm on my way

You’re the final destination
Of every single step I take.

Think of how you might one day hold me close and hold me fast;

Come out of hiding, I’m right beside you

With you wanting me;

Do you like kissing girls?

They say that love is forever,

And your forever is all that I need;

Here, in between this crowd of thousands

Looking in your eyes is quite the view.

Think of how one day this all will be

A tiny bit more real than it already is;

The night, the silence, the rain,

These flowers and our dreams;

The wind, the leaves, the world:

All of these reserved for you and me to take

And contemplate from this corner of the Earth

Where your heart and mine take up space

On this loving, blessed shelf.

6 Months Underground

I.

Thus, the ground opened

Like a rosebud that's just grown.

Arms reached up like sunflowers

Searching for that golden glare;

The wind carried no screams

As it blowed through the wheat fields.

Autumn has come,

All is ripe

And all is right.

Flowers do not die in the dark

As long as the Styx waters

The misfortuned soil

And their love won't dry.

II.

Thus, the heavens opened

Bringing her down like a ray of sunlight;

Arms reached up like river waves      

Hoping for that caring touch.

The air filled with laments

Of the souls that would not know

No more of love, and pain,

And distance.

Spring has come,

All is dead

And all is woe.

Darkness did not know

It could miss one flower so.

That soil prepared shall be

For his love's return to him.