Once upon a time
he saw with his fingertips
He saw every word spoken
simply by tracing it

Once upon a time
he felt those words by heart
Then he closed his own
and decided it was time to part

Once upon a time
He never saw her face
he could only be guided
by her rhyme

Once upon a time
He sat listening in rapture
but then he left it
all behind

Once upon a time
he felt what she had wrote

Now he just listens
to the words
stuck in her throat

Once upon a time
he would have pulled the words
from her barely beating chest

Once upon a time
she would have coughed them up
just to sit beside him and rest

Once upon a time
they spoke,
they communicated
on a path that was one mind

Once upon a time
she became mute
He no longer
heard her
because he was blind

gives exquisite attention
speaks with grace
flowing through the room
touching everyone
Groundhog day
six weeks later
telling you your life story
though you might have just met

I tell my son be careful son,
(also reminding this heart of mine,
you'd better not walk that line)

Look in the eyes
there's a white light shinning
focused right on you
feels so good
easy to misjudge what you're seeing
easy to take for granted

The day it's going to come

The white light blinking out
The exquisite attention
somewhere else

(This heart of mine, I put on notice)
I also tell my son,
be careful.

You are no more abnormal than the woman in a shoe
A dull cold blade sits at the base of my spine
who goes on washing the clothes and beating the children
while my unlit corridors buzz to neon life like a scream in outer space.
                                    
None of it matters anyway.....