I can see it
right there at the edge of sanity
hovering like a giant black stone
against the early morning Sun
I notice because I always notice when they appear
my attention drawn to that one spot
in the vast open sky
it moves slowly as I reference it's location
just to the left of a jet's vapor trail
I reach for my phone to get a photo as I'm driving
slow down as I take a ramp
point in it's direction and snap off a pic
I attempt to take another
but it is gone
vanished
I wonder if I caught it before disappearing
five minutes later I park
check my phone
and there it is
quite small
but there it is
I got you my friend
extraterrestrial hide and seek
I've been playing this game since I was a kid

It's been a while
since I've felt her felt tip
scratch through the surface
Deep into my soul
to take me out of hiding

-x-

I remember how we parted
I regret not saying goodbye
And in a text back to a midnight apology
She had promised that she would write

She left an empty canvas
and a naive head full of dreams
and thoughts she never coloured
that festered deep within

I tried to draw her contours,
the little hat she used to wear
and beneath it, to recollect
the texture of her hair

But her pencils betray me
They don't want me to tell her tale
or mine if ever I was part of it
So I chose these words instead

Reams of paper in my cabinet
Meant for her delicate brushes
Black and blue stains of poetry adorn them
Like scars of sin on skin, permanent.

A million Gods to pray to
You'd think I was spoilt for choice
For my devotion was never aimed at them,
perhaps they do not heed my voice

-x-

It's been a while
since I've felt a felt tip
scratch through the surface
That provoked my senses
to come start fighting

I'm hanging on.. I'm hanging on..
But for how long?

I
dreamt
of
a
strange time