When I think of the greats
Of my favorite poems and poets
The words spring to mind
Perfectly profound
Adept at turning the everyday
Into magic and beauty
They know what we all know
They see what we all see
But only they can write
Without losing what makes it
What it is
Perfectly profound

I crackle through dead leaves
Layered over dry, green grass
Hands in my pockets
Making sure not to trip
I crouch in front of a stranger's grave
A rough, stone reminder
Of a soul lost in time
I read their name aloud
And I let them know they're not forgotten

I sit in my school's dusty library
Like a picture taken on film
Full of grain and texture
Frozen beams of light
Through slanted venetian blinds
Capture and hold dust
Suspended like dew in a spider web

Rigid, impasto clouds
Stick out of the sky
Like Van Gogh
Put them there himself
Sky peaking between
Buildings and towers
Pushed and pulled
Twisted and ripped apart
Like fabric tearing slowly
Moved by the breeze
Invisible currents slicing
A silent cacophony of air
I reach up and feel
Solid, dried paint crackles
Under my finger tips
I pull my hand away
Digits stained white and blue and gray

Shifting streets and their buildings
Pulsing and moving and shaking
Jagged and prickly corners
Edges of windows glint
Like drops of blood
On the edge of a sword
Walls and sidewalks
Rough like a giant cat's tongue
The skyscrapers carve the landscape
Into a distorted forest
An amalgamation of today
And yesterday and the day before that
I reach forward and feel
I pull back in shock
Fingers pricked and knees scraped

I can still picture you here
The afternoon's lemonade sky corrupts the image
Still, you pose for cameras that no longer exist
Only tamped down, long-dead grass remains
This would've been a lovely place for a picnic
Or maybe to make love
Before the fall of reason

I arrive at the corner
All five senses awake
It’s raining, light footsteps, a murmur
Words with no weight
Footsteps on wet streets
Steam rising
Air that is water
I hear without listening

Your body of steam
Your face of night
Your hair of lightning
Your eyes of asphalt
Your fingers of water
I see you in this place

The unhurried lighting unfolds you
You cross the street and enter time
Weightless
The asphalt’s shining
Night walks away
A surge of weight running over me
The rain listens
Not distracted in this moment
Night returns
You and the mist
Figurations of time
Wandering in the dark

Days and years go by
The night is in another time
In the next room
Not here
You lay asleep in your garden
Nestled among the leaves
Adrift of time
Footsteps cover you
No more resurrections
You listen to the rain
A vision

Inventor of the night
The shadow
The rain
Listen to me
See my sorrow
Open my eyelids
Burn the terrace
The grove
The night
The moments

I found myself wanting, wanting for something I could not find
Suddenly I saw your vision, your twisted image filled my mind
I saw you in my nightmares, taunting me from miles and miles away
I tried but I could not save you, so I slipped back into the deep space

Couldn’t realize the state I was in till you showed me my insides
Didn’t know how good i could be till you showed me the bright light
Just give me one more chance just give me one more day...
Cause soon, I’ll be just another airwave.

I don’t know how I got here, I’ve got no memories of my past
All my so called years behind me, no one told me id be so empty this fast
Suddenly I saw the tv, its wretched static rots my brain
I thought i’d take a trip yeah, but no journey could dilute my pain