Once I met a man
who called himself
the Dark Poet
He spoke but quietly
in hushed tones of wisdom
Might I be a fool to check the year
but I could have sworn it was
the great Poe himself
reincarnated through this man
I laughed at the possibility of the truth and
shrugged off the obscure thought
he said I should laugh often
that the sound of laughter
is a sound the world has been deeply deprived of
there we sat on a park bench at dusk
with the fluorescent streetlight flickering above us, insects buzzing and dying
He spoke of treacherous times
and
the past that should have been left behind
He told me,
“The past, much like the present, is inescapable. Try as you might to let it go, but still will it linger in the dark crevices of your mind”
I asked him if he would want to relive the past
He folded his hands
There was something about the way he held himself that made him look so unnerving, yet naked and small
I immediately regretted my question, but he looked at me with a glint in his eye and whispered
"No, child.
As many days as I have seen of rain, I know that there will always come a rainbow. I look for the rainbow.
I do not wish to relive the past, because the rainbows I saw were the most beautiful rainbows in my life."
He stood up then, brushed off his pants, and walked away.
I sat on that park bench a while longer, pondering what had just happened
It started to rain, but I did not get up.
Instead, I let the rain soak through my clothes and chill my bones
I stayed on that park bench until it stopped raining.
Though the night was peculiar, I knew one thing was for sure;
I would always look for the rainbows.