of course there was a time before

a time when the night was gentle
the moon perched in the shadowed branches
the stars rustling about in their tiny flickering fullness
like blinking birds

in an instant
everything took flight
i soared with you and
laughed laughed
laughed so hard and sweet
life was long
and happy

we threw bread to those star birds

then when i got home i pulled out
my soft black notebook
it was dusty
but i wrote
and then i cried
and it spilled over the paper
in a rush of quiet ink

i spelled your name out
over and over and
over
with the curves of the letters i bent my body
backwards

eyes glittering
like those little star birds
something followed me through that night
i turned and turned but i could not catch it
and i found that
i couldn't take a breath
so i screamed
the sound was raspy and it was high and it
swung through the rafters
it tiptoed along the windowsill and
buried itself in your eye
where it sang and sang


yes
there was a time before
it is to me now as an echo is