I want something
I can't
have you ever
seen the sky
so blue

you forgot red and yellow?

I’ve been walking around inside-out
for a few years now

if I fall
my heart just may burst,

so my nerves won’t let me near you.

Fit in a new gear

*****, *****, *****

but no clock is perfect
This one runs a little fast
a little strained

*****, *****, *****, *****

and now the metal's creaking.

I stopped beside a summer brook
and could only see what the winter took
the banking stone was laid out bare
a few scattered lichens here and there.

But standing at my kneeling feet
one tuft of grass the wind couldn't beat
its leaves were calloused, stained winter-green
face shining skyward, labors unseen.

I stared at the gnarled thing
as the years grew thick in my throat
I couldn't remember its first little shoots
But here it was standing, with deep, deep roots.