10 at night                                                                                       the wind is piercing, relentless
the moon shoots through the window like a bow and arrow and
                            shimmers off of the oil-on-canvas painting of a willow
                                                                                                  hanging by the door
you’re throwing a few t-shirts and your favorite pair of ripped levi’s                                                                                   into the coffee-colored backpack i gave you last summer                          it was your birthday
                                                                                                            god                i don’t want you to leave
flip over the record             and please             stay
                                                             until it’s finished
but            you            can’t
                                                and     i know you have         so much         too much         to offer  
   your unmatched compassion      the way your eyes glimmer in an instant when a bird
                                             first takes flight              
you have been here through  my best and worst        have seen me radiate shades of pale blue
                  and for this i am thankful
  
though i’m neglected from my thoughts              left fidgeting through a barbed wire fence
         realizing the shocks are all i’ve felt           in weeks           months
                                                                                                                                i must let it be

so i lie back             soak in a lukewarm water filled cast iron tub             trace the rim of it with a
          shriveled finger                      
                                                               and let it be          
                                                                                                           as i remain static