we trickle
like rains through the rock
transfigured
by that which we endured
every hardship, every mis-staked claim
all those still to come
hooks and lures
the allure almost too much
not to succumb to;
run the gambit
stay the grind,
stand your ground,
and keep your nose clean

dark shadows
subservient
to lights austere adherence
of eclipse
past the sailor's head
onto eddying sea currents
whisking ships out from port
in aviator headgear
it's radiance, blinding and brilliant
worth any danger it might invite
off soldier's helmets
lost in the tangled webs
of weaved kevlar vests
over sandy dunes
and abandoned homes
rolling hills
reflected by shards of glass
perceptible in all avenues of life

not every man wants the same thing
but most men want, similarly
and whether it's as grand
as the vision their minds portrayed
or as to if it sees their hearts splayed
their soul is on display
and it can be a vulnerable proceeding
and so far as in love goes
like life, it is fleeting
better to have had it
and lost it
then to have gone on living
and never known it

we're holding out hope
and pulling for you
here, in yankeeland
and our grandfather's would have gone
then they invented the a-bomb
and pushed big red buttons
into every world leader's hand
and we can't pretend
chances aren't slim
that you win
but we're pulling for you,
in yankeeland

i love you so much
still burn with it
a gas lamp that will not extinguish
this pain distinguished
now that you're truly gone
no, you're no linguist
but you spoke my tongue

if the world had eyes
i would bury my fingers
in their sockets
and squeeze till blood had welled
and poured over down my knuckles;
what do they see anyway

words erased
are words well expressed
with this silence
that everyday capitulation yields
it's not nihilism
but acceptance
over what you cannot change