Like a young child losing grip of his balloon,
I let go

I wonder if the child was sad as they watched their favorite balloon,

           slowly
                            
                                    drifting


                                                     a
                                                            w
                                                                    a
                                                                          y

I wonder what the child had done to get the balloon
Oh, what excitement it must have been
Now just a forever memory

and today
on this day of
your birth
I am ******
down into
the rhythms
of all that
we have been
until this moment
the biting rawness
             of new ebbs
the saddened veins
that vibrate
like used, worn
           guitar strings
the curve of
your fingers
that once played
            upon my skin
your weighted down aura
that I can no longer penetrate
and buoy up
and here I stand
all glowing light spirals
my head whirring
in mystic opulence
my gaze pulled to
the reverence of stars
my purity of river
in a swoosh
around my waist
that gurgling clarity
of liquid
pooling me in sacred
                            cleansing
that I must now take into
another rush
of estuary
and as I raise my arms
to the heavens
I almost fade
into the floodlights
                            of time
and my tears
push through
my skin
like the clear
jewels
of
salvation

I am red clay suffering the boots of men
Aged Pine in fear of the saw
The plight of Whitetails in the Winter hunt
September Dove escaping the shotgun
Deforested back country robbed of fertile layer
The cold domestic animal showing unconditional -
love before their slayer
A tear for the meek
A blanket for the weak
We are every person sleeping in a car
The stars blocked by city lights
The diesel engine roar
Technologies ******
We are the riddle , the animal superior , changelings in denial
The True Killers* ...

i'm beginning to forget
the sound of water on pebbles
the cry of a hyena in the dark
life and death juxtaposed
a chilling antithesis

i'm beginning to forget
the thrill of a loving touch
the pain of a stricken heart
harmony and rupture adjacent
a terrible paradox

i'm beginning to forget
the joy you stirred in me
the deep sadness you induced
serene days and chilly blasts
a reminder of bitter-sweet things