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1.1k · Mar 2014
At Times
Carsten Tice Mar 2014
Someone should invent
mechanisms for opening and closing
the best parts of ourselves
so we don't have any destructive contraptions
interfering anymore.

We could also really use
subtle reminders to
make eye contact with ourselves in mirrors
and dance to the sound of our own heartbeats
at times when we can't hear the music.
418 · Feb 2015
I think you're everywhere.
Carsten Tice Feb 2015
I think you're everywhere.
When I see babies, grandmothers,
squirrels, trees, peaches, puddles.
In handwriting that is a perfect mix of
script and print. You're there.
When the credits roll. When I'm driving alone.
When a rooster crows. When I miss my flight.
I see you in the eyes of every person I meet.

You're not dead -
(At least I don't think so.)
But I've gotten used to you
in the past tense.

I think of how it always seemed like
you knew a secret
that the rest of the world doesn't know.
The mystery that enshrouded you then
has been multiplied now by your retreat.
Thousands of miles and thousands of days
conspired to create a chasm
that I often attempt to traverse while I'm asleep.

Am I angry? Not really.
I pretend to be because it is easier than being sad.
You knew me better than anyone ever has
and losing you is simply something
I haven't mastered yet.
I understand you had to leave.
Even in your silence, I trust your goodness.

But I still can't shake the sadness
of the world (or me)
maybe not ever knowing
that secret thing that you know.
You're still the voice in my head
and it is one of my sincerest hopes
to burn love letters with you again
in this life or the next.
153 · May 2018
Spheres
Carsten Tice May 2018
I see you surrounded by wet blue.
Your head bobs up and down
and you gasp for breath. Ghosts in your eyes
and flooding trains coming from your lungs.

I'm standing on the shoreline, wading in, ankles deep.
But I know I can't save you
so that's as far as I'll go.

I'm looking around for help --
There are others on the sand but
they're even weaker than I am.

This won't do.

I briefly consider walking away so I don't have to watch.
But I have a feeling
this might not really be happening.
So I guess I'll stay until we find out.

— The End —