Death strikes twice, the first, when coursing lifeblood stops
Upon the second, the spoken name of thine be lost,
And time between should not be briefed,
But scalpel blade and nimble hands within, abridge,
Of all potential generations be stole, a thiefed,
No more a babe be at my tender breast,
Boneless mouth be torn away, a burned bridge
Alas! The conduit be severed full,
The songbirds sing upon in their nest
Above their chicks, but never I, for I am null
The blessed Lord up above, import remembrance
‘Though time ‘twixt the events become short
       So be me, as long as mouths doth speak
       Death creeps aforth, upon, and scared, retreats.

I furiously pluck at the metal
As if that was going to spark inspiration
The hollow rosewood body reverberates the tangy sound
My mind is blank
My thoughts have ceased
I don't know
Then, the nictitating membrane is lifted
I have an idea
I pluck out my new song

I see you, sitting over there.
I see you.
But do you see me?
I see you.
I am floating.
Ascending high above the lino floor.
I look back.
Everything wisping into a cloud.
A hazy fog covers.
You just sit there.
I scream.
You can't hear me.
I thrash.
You can't see me.
I stamp.
You still can't hear me.
You still sit there.
Under your hoodie.
Fidgeting with your thumbs.
I see you!
But do you see me?
Please?
????????
I look down.
The hospital bed is below.
My earthly body lays.
The cup around my mouth ceases condensing.
I look to you.
Fixated on my earthly body.
I have moved on.
If only I could tell you.
I have crossed the border.
Bye.

This is how it all starts,
Out from the confining darkness,
To the wide open brightness.

Eyes closed, mouth closed, everything condensed.
A sliver appears in your darkness.
Light floods in, illuminating your world.

Motion blurring into color,
Light blurring into memories,
You are held.

Wide eyes, unintelligible din.
Some being stares at me,
Must be dream, if I even understand the definition.

The languid movement of my eyes,
Scanning the close to supernatural moment,
Everything unclear.



Wide eyes, unintelligible din,
Some being stares at me,
Must be a dream, if I even still understand the definition.

Memories blurring into light,
Light blurring into color,
You are held.

Eyes now closed, mouth now closed, everything now condensed.
A sliver of light appears in your darkness.
Light floods in, illuminating your world.

To the wide open brightness,
Out from the confining darkness.
This is how it all ends…


No. It begins again.


This is how it all starts. Again

I see them, do you?
The oldest from the dead, the youngest from the new.
The trek to the borough unknown, speckled with these.
All tethered to the iron girders supporting the ironwork.
I see them, do you?
100 years hence, still tethered?
Every metal rectangle representing love, marriage, a vow.
They will not fall off.
My children’s children will trek, with a parallelism to me.  
They will be rusty.
The weak, perished.
But you will see them.
Maybe I will lock one on too.
For the world, and you, to see.
Or maybe not.
If I do, I will remove the key and sacrifice it to the river.
That’s the way I like it.