unanimous
perfect
agreement

hands down
no argument

Countermelody
without the selfish back talk
point reinforcement

the Visionary
failing
falling

lost to
Deaf ears
not for
lack of
Volume

but out
of generic
disinterest

the Artist
flailing
calling

blind to
Deafinition
not for
lack of
Hunger

contrary
starving for
consummation

Hand in hand

The multitude
   A sacred harp

The gemeni
   One point by perspective

Souls  Synchronized

a satellite dish on the roof
of my grandfather's shed
sings to the stars

who will provide the countermelody?

i took you to a place on the beach
that my dad took me as a boy
to share these sweet things with you

it all means something.

there is a waterfall in the woods
in northwest indiana
where once the river ran so dry
you could look down into the riverbed
and see the roots of trees
gasping, begging for the water's return

we stood in the rain the next day
as the wind whipped petals
off the branches of the maple trees
and in the downburst
i fell so deeply love with you

will you sing with me?

there is no use in weeping
over things left unsaid
if they were better off
on the radio waves
bouncing down to the satellite
into the screen inside your head
to replay the crescendo to failure
in the moments before collapse

6/8 timing
Breathe in,breathe out
don't make eye contact
Golden squares of precious sunlight
fall staggered on the table in the morning
don't cry at beautiful things
pianissimo,false cadence
a major chord unfolds like a bird's wings
close your eyes and lift your head
to the sky
keep a low profile and
let your deeds speak for themselves
the countermelody fades in and out
sneaking out the
back door before they realize
it came in
swallow the fury scalding your tongue
and keep it down,
and try to keep your face straight
even as it festers and burns your insides
staccato sixteenth notes
the spaces wedged neatly
between each one
Karma is only an anime character,
but justice runs invariably
in the marrow of our bones.
even if you hold the world
in the palm of your hand
you cannot hold onto it forever.
time eats everything you have,
so savor it while you can.
enjoy this life;
they don't have room for mortals
in paradise.
Keep walking,keep playing,
until the end of your line
with one eye on the conductor
and one on your music
with your heart on your sleeve,
as your very soul flows through each note.

1.
stirring the coffee.
caffeine and tears.

2.
ragged by his weighty hands
ravaged

3.
daymare on countermelody
cushioned lava mumbling

4.
feverish harmonic echoes
of dying forevers

5.
a smoke. the dark.
he stumbles.

6.
sipping the coffee.
nodding: dark alley.

you are five when you discover how much bigger the room becomes when your mother leaves your bedside at night, and ten when science still doesn't explain why. you grow up beside a puppy that cries at your disappearance and welcomes you home with fire-lit eyes every evening. at fifteen, you fall in love with the way shadows look when they're holding hands in the summer. and then, you meet a girl who laughs into silence and measures your smile with her tongue and are confused when she refuses to trail the clouds among your footsteps.

because not all of us grew up that way, thinking that the world was a hurricane that we needed to be anchored against, or a song wasn't complete without a countermelody to wrap around its rough edges. we sat around miniature globes and imagined how the constellations looked in venice. we drew minutes into hours on the backs of our hands, we became our own best thing thing. and each time the sun went down, we'd look past the shadows in the concrete and rejoice in the freedom entwined between our fingers where you were convinced her hands belonged.