Prey
Hunting vantages
Mates

All there is to know
Reflected in Hawk's eye

The arrow took it in the heart.

Softly
Like wind's remnants on the forest floor
Or dew dropping from leaf's tip

Loudly
Like ocean waves crashing on defiant rocks
Or summer thunderstorms raking the plains

Passionately
Like the bird sings in the morning
Or the argument between lovers

Don’t miss the chance
It may only come once.

Don’t look away
When the man weeps
When the woman dies
When the child wails
When the dog whines

Cruelty is the universe moving
Suffering is the feeling of life

Don’t look away
Into the happy times
Into the fearful memory
Into the conceited depression
Into the fake gods

You can’t escape your fate
You won’t evade death.

And then I was alone
With all my things
Accumulated like a bird’s feathers
They allow flight and
Attempt to attract mates.

But it never works
Flightless
Mateless
And obscured by these feather-like
Possessions.

I laid there…
Eyes closed
Blissful in the knowledge
That my future sped out of reach
My past slowly growing
Warmth spread in my chest
Each beat
Slower now.

The stop was painful
The beat more so
And though I deserved
That end
The beat continued
Once more my future
Receded to my grasp.

It’s been over a year
Since I told her I wouldn’t
Play second fiddle.

I still think of her
Every day it’s the same thought
Should I ask how she is?

And I genuinely hope
That she is doing well
And doesn’t feel the pain of loss.

But I secretly hope
That she misses me like I miss her
And thinks of me everyday.