you will not call my memory into question.
you will not question my memory.
see there was you and me up on a hilltop by ourselves
and then the red clouds dispersing above me
i should have killed myself
when i found out how beautiful you are.
but everyone makes mistakes sometimes.

as the afternoon sky opened up its mouth
and the air cooled down one or two degrees
i felt the world within me screaming to come out
and then i looked up at you and your hair spilled down over me.

i felt you breathing on me and i heard your voice.
your eyes were twin bonfires and your lips were moist.
i should have killed myself
when i found out how beautiful you are.
but everyone makes mistakes sometimes.

come down in the flatland
show me your shoulder
wait now where the black hand touches us
we'll both grow older

and the sky above us
and the ground beneath us
and the air around us
and the ocean to the right

measure your arm length
i can't live without it
i treasure those thirty inches
i want to talk about it.

and the sky above us
and the ground beneath us
and the air around us
and the ocean to the right

love you in the cold air
your long hair makes me shiver
above you i see the sun
light up every sliver

and the sky above us
and the ground beneath us
and the air around us
and the ocean to the right

and the sky above us
and the ground beneath us
and the air around us
and the ocean to the right

the moon shining,
three hours into the best part of the day and
i want to tell you that you're so pretty and
the words come out wrong and the rage gets in the way..
dead quiet you looked at me like you were looking into space.
yeah, in space noone could hear you say good bye.
but down here i shouldn't have to read it on your face.
that's not normal.
that's not right.
that's not very nice.
no, it isn't.

the moon shining down on your body.
you look so nice.
and i want to tell you, but you don't want to hear it,
and i know. you don't have to tell me twice.
but, once would be civil. the moon shining.
i got it in my brain, and i had so much to say but there was dead quiet.
you were silent. three hours into the best part of the day.
and that's not normal.
that's not right.
that's not very nice.
no, it isn't.

and that's not normal.
that's not right.
that's not very nice.
no, it isn't.

meanwhile downstairs
i'm setting up shop
a little too proud
to let the matter drop

i can see you up there,
isn't it romantic?
you're huffing and puffing
their chairs on the titanic
and i reach for a glass
of cool water drawn from the rivers of babylon.

meanwhile outside,
the stars have come out.
and the humid summer air
tugs at the ring in my snout.
and you come to the window,
and i spread wide my arms.
jump if you want to jump.
jump if you want to.
the water's warm.
me, i know.
i know 'cause i've been swimming.
blindly along through the rivers of babylon.

the building shook with the sound of wild kittens,
and i grabbed my scarf and i pulled on my mittens,
took my coat and i went down
to the useless lot on the outskirts of town.
the dogs were howling.
the wind was blowing.
the birds were singing.
and i saw you.

your eyes as bright as burning coals,
but ask not for whom the bell tolls.
'cause it tolls for those who ask that question.
and it tolls for those who answer that question.
dogs were howling.
the birds were singing.
the wind was blowing.
and i saw you.

i remember that day in the afternoon sun
the garter snake passed lazily through the tall yellow-headed sourgrass
or maybe time was edging toward stillness
as it so often does in mental replays

there was cold, clear water in a tall, clean glass
that sat still at the end of your fingers
the sunlight hit the sides and it came through the water tilted
at the same angle as your head as you smiled
i saw the condensation on your hand
and wondered if it would feel cool against my skin
or if all I'd feel was the warmth of you
i could feel the glaciers melting
drop by drop by drop

and a warm, soft wind
covered up everything
on the day your love came screaming through me

you had oranges and lemons in a canvas bag beside you
different hues of summer in that pouch you brought along
there were seven different kinds of light welling up inside of you
you smeared citrus pulp all over me, in laughter like song
gone too quickly to tell you I longed for you to stay
gone to good old east rutherford three thousand miles away

i felt the warm surge blast my mind
coming in from behind
on the day your love came screaming through me

in the fresh light of day
i felt something falling away
on the day your love came screaming through me

                                                 *i remember that day
                                                  time was edging toward stillness
                                                  as it so often does in replays

The last of my kind
There’ll be no more after me
I’m a flightless bird
With useless wings
Dumb and wild and free
Take a good hard look
At what you’ve done to me

On display
In my solitary incarceration
I pace in circles
So the camera will see
Look at my stripes fade
Take a good hard look
At what you’ve done to me

I had no fear of anyone
‘til you got ahold of me
The moon shone through the trees
A spotlight in my final serenade
No brothers left
And there’ll be no more after me

This poem has been a product of the combined efforts of myself and the lovely prrtybrd