A skylight leaves much to be desired.
The stars shine through,
But we are safe.
Protected by these four walls.

Show me the night sky.
I want danger.
I need the reminder.
That I am insignificant.

You, one step forward.
Me, one step backward.
"This is a bad idea",
I voice as stably as I can.

I am a menacing typhoon
Curated by the sighs and whispers
Of the burnt and the buried.
I am their reincarnation.

I am designed specifically
To be masked like a poker player.
Do you think you know me?
Too much behind these foreboding cards.

Your soft kind flame has rekindled
my combustible mould of stone.
But I must keep you safe from me
By keeping you at arm's length.

Don't be foolish, I am hard to love.
What did you think, honey?
The cherry-red beneath my eyes
Are no dark circles.

My heart once drummed a steady tune
Thump...
                 thump...
                                 thump...
Like a contented wanderer it continued on,
s l o w
steady
repeating, repeating, repeating.

But like the wanderer, it sensed you
a disturbance in the equilibrium.
The drum solo arrived, a fast-paced melody

         p
     a     i
  e          n
l                g
                        racin­g
                                      beating
                 ­                                     singing.
                   ­                                                   And then...
                                                         ­                                   stopping.
Only to continue again,
just as quick, throbbing just the same.

But.

This time...

The wanderer sensed danger.

This time...

The adrenaline filled my veins
as you filled my gaze
and it was too late.

Run, hurry, don't stop
We can't let our hope drop
There's a future waiting up ahead
Can't turn out dead

Danger lurking around
Stay close to the ground
Don't separate from one another
Just a bit farther

The home left behind
But got to keep it out of mind
Thirst and hunger, there's less energy
No, move on, even if empty

The desert seems endless
Trapped in a tremendous mess
Seems to have no end
Death has become a close friend

Got one injured when fell
Another ill, not feeling well
The number decreases
Left downhearted and in pieces

Heat is killing
Blood is spilling
We have risked it all
We cannot fall

danger

that's all i was aware of

i paid the notice heed

but nothing could draw me from the spark of colors

carefully, i felt the dash lick my finger

soft, and i never knew it

no sensation could match the flickering feel of the flame

safety

Having Touched You
by Michael R. Burch

What I have lost
is not less
than what I have gained.
And for each moment passed
like the sun to the west,
another remained

suspended in memory
like a flower
in crystal
so that eternity
is but an hour
and fall

is no longer a season
but a state
of mind.
I have no reason
to wait;
the wind

does not pause
for remembrance
or regret
because
there is only fate and chance.
And so then, forget . . .

Forget that we were very happy
for a day.
That day was my lifetime.
Before that day I was empty
and the sky was grey.
You were the sunshine,

the sunshine that gave me life.
I took root
and I grew.
Now the touch of death is like a terrible knife,
and yet I can bear it,
having touched you.

Odd, the things that inspire us! I wrote this poem after watching "The Boy in the Bubble": a made-for-TV movie, circa 1976, starring John Travolta. So I would have been around 18 at the time. Keywords/Tags: bubble, boy, Travolta, disease, illness, death, love, touch, danger, courage