The rolling thunder booms
Far off like a metronome it keeps beat for the distant birds to sing
For they know what looms in the distance
They sing to let go of others' fears
As the notes drift into the sky each hook picks up the burdens of others

Down on my luck
My body is empty
A shell of only emotion
And thought
Shaking like a scared dog-
The most damning evidence comes when I stand
Do my legs fold under me?
Or does the earth no longer find me relevant
No longer fruitful
No longer worthy to walk on her face
Cool air
Gives my inhale something to talk about
As I fall back to the dew
(Immovable)
"Earth, if you have (ever) loved me; cradle (now)
My broken body in your arms."
"Just a drop of water fallen from a leaf
Could quench my thirst"
To ashes I must return
I am dust and gravel
Sift me between your fingers
Know me
Be my disciple
Speaking my thoughts to all who will listen
And one (night)
When your heart skips
You will know it is time
The ache on the wind
No longer possible to ignore
Go out to the darkest corner of the forest
And lie among the twigs and leaves
I am there with you as you become radiance
I am there whistling your favorite song
Giving you peace
Giving you (spring and her color)
Deer live their lives around us
Acting as sentinels of (morning)
Earthworms cursed with blindness
Burrow beneath us
Thistle
Wildflower
Hungry little fingers growing in color
As the horizon tips us
Into the glow of our star
(Morning)
Quietly now, darling
You (are) a stranger in this life
But you will haunt all you have touched
The smell of your skin
Is upon your letters
And your dresses still) hold your beauty
Your shoes still worn through
You will not be forgotten
So rest now
I wipe your parched lips with a cloth
Dipped in the cold waters of the river
I smooth the wrinkles in your shirt
And fold your fingers above your chest
Placing between your warm palms
A smooth shell
I plucked from the sea
(Long ago)
When you were but a child
And I was (summer)

Flames
Licking around the columns
Into the windows.
Acid rain
Splattering my decently ancient notebook
Tears on a dark day.
Taffeta
Crumpling into a heap gracefully on the floor
Embellished with sunshine.
Search lights
Shining into my open window
I know they're looking for you.
A voice
In the dark
Your voice, how I've missed it.
They won't miss us.
They won't blink an eye.
Won't shed a tear for our disappearance.
I kiss you one last time.
Let the flames engulf my fragile frame.