Sifting through your words,
     anxious to find a nugget of truth.
Chipping away at your facade,
     desperately searching for a vein of hope.

I was a fool for mistaking hope as precious,
     trying not to rub you the wrong way.
You barely allowed me to scratch your surface,
     which should have told me everything I needed to know.

It's all coming back to me now;
     or are these just dream shadows?
If only I could fade into
     the wistful images and claim
        their reality as my own.
I must have some good Karma
     to spend....I just must.

I'd purchase wishes in the colors
     of redemption and salvation.
Brush away past mistakes with strokes
     of love and acceptance,
        appreciation and compassion.
Allow the beauty and purity of innocence
     to resurface and dominate my life's canvas.

Please don't take me for granite,
     despite my sometimes polished surface.
My strength isn't a constant.
I must bend to the pressures
     of sorrow and loss.

Please don't take me for granite,
     I am not cold to the touch.
I am not resistant to the
     stains of memory.
Granted, we both have failing points.

Emotional ground undermined
   without a warning...
      no trembling earth
      no animals evacuating

I must have unintentionally fed
   the natural frequency of my support.
It rocked to music and unfinished memories
   until it failed me.

Dropped like a stone...long fall...hard landing.
Dark down there...Don't think I'll venture that way again.

Will you please watch my stuff?
    I don't know how long I'll be gone.
You may finish my iced tea if you'd like;
    I've had more than enough.
In fact, you may keep my stuff;
    I've had more than enough.