"Till death do us part,"
Red lips behind a cereal spoon
Blue eyes and pupils like dimes
The moon is her spotlight
Glinting off of pale hair

"Till death do us part,"
Layers upon layers of clothing
You always felt too skinny
You painted a skeleton
And called it 'self portrait'

"Till death do us part,"
She was starved for sunlight on the hottest days
You let her stretch in the rays
As you wilted comfortably in the shade
And Frances skipped from dark to light, keeping the equilibrium that you couldn't give her

"Till death do us part,"
The greenhouse above the garage
Where you swallowed your final breaths
A lethal dose of ****** coursing through your veins
And a bullet in your skull
Did she laugh as you fell apart?

It's better to burn out
Than to fade away

like Syd and Nancy
like Paul and Linda
like Kurt and Courtney
like John and Yoko
like Elvis and Priscilla
I want us to be reckless
I want us to be free
I want us to not to be afraid of what's coming
I want us to be just us
but I know it's not going to happen

Why should they care?
why should they say?
denial
go on
I know what you're thinking
and it's okay
irrational
nonsense
everything
you're just being **bent

NINETEEN

We walk together through scorched ravines.

Cutting paths through ashen yellowed undergrowth.

Beads of perspiration, our faces flushed,

The gusting wind embraces us as if to hold us back from completing our objective.



Six minutes of Safety our mission, premise clear,

We attack the fire with grit & opposing force.

Smoldering vegetation extinguished beneath our feet

And a Jack Rabbit makes his move to escape the approaching flames.



And in the distance, the Demon ‘Fire’ & his accomplice ‘shifting winds’ plan their conspiracy,

They look down upon there victims with malicious contempt.

Hands clenched as if to enjoy their fatal actions….

And with swift exploit they entrap the men.



As the men peer through the flames they see what seems to be Angels on the Horizon.

And they arrive to carry off their heroes to paradise.

Making their way through the Milky Way……. past Jupiter & Mars,

Bound for a place called “The New Jerusalem”.



A welcoming carpet of stars marks their arrival and the Son shone bright!

And as they approach the city, their smiling faces are welcomed by oceans of loved ones & friends afar.

No more tears, no more pain, no more worries…only happiness abounds

Because the hotshots from Granite Mountain have arrived home, safe and sound.