Oh, how I ache,
Bone healthy but sore;
And weary stabs the dullness I drink,
As though the night empties into me,
Or discards her blanket over my head,
Or plays merry trickster with daylight sense.
Pin pricks jab and stars dazzle closed eyes–
It's something special indeed to see.
Hands heavy and sagging,
Reach for another dream; but–
False.
How can such a soft word
Be so hard to hear?
Oh, mix another long stem of forgetfulness
Cooled by sapphire gems
As they seem to me and my demons,
Who cannot see past our lips.
Dissolve and fade foul oasis!
Let the leaves brown and rivers bog,
That I might go on in peace
And forget the velvet canopy and
Cross-stitching in my face.
Pass me a coat to ward away the heavenly breeze.
Away! For I am tired of the mocking scent of dew,
And the dizzying heights of wise men,
Who remind me of lessons overdue.
Give me what is real to me,
And touch,
Here, where grumbles and moans offer a crutch.
Shield me from the good for nothing truth–
The withered bloom of youth;
Or someone's strained voice–
I now forget who.
Spill, spill, like seeds on concrete;
Knuckles bruised.
Quickly now, before another sees
The pieces of those broken dreams.
In my stale bed I awake in fright
To misery and an empty glass,
And there, I long lament the night. |
Submission Name: Half Empty
