a paragraph of words
a herd of syllables
in my throat

I purse my lips
to keep it all contained

laced with a wading fear
with a love that’s like warmth
cupped in soft hands
and an indignation
reflective as polished stone

I am a dewdrop
twinkling in the sunlight
of a spider’s web

I am a question
held prisoner
to the whims of time

i have succumbed
nothing but to
the clink of ice in glass

or the violets in
the whistling wind

or the sprinkle of salt
on an open wound

what are memories
but treasure chests
of pain

or hard candy
that slowly melts away
and leaves your tongue blue

or a phantom
that creeps
from door to door

peeking through some,
locking after a visit
lingering in the shadows

memories travel like a whisper
a refraction of light
and swirling dust bunnies

what are memories
but a corner fold
of a page

a quiet dance
a flirtation
between here and there,
red and blue
a tango fluttering
out from grasp of time

toes sink into grass,
shoulders bare the
blazing, scouring sun
the wind like
a breathing trinket
of melody,

a chase meant
to be without
an end

a bullet train plummeting
through my head,
one ear and out
the other

knees weak and shaky
i cover my ears
and they hurt
i cover my mouth
my breath condenses

a rainy night, fractured
spidery network of lightning
dancing behind the clouds
and then something falls.

is this courage or stupidity, i think
funny how they are
two sides of the
same coin