I have no compass… this feels South;
It’s towards the clouds threatening thunder
And toward home.
A temporary escape outside– enough time
to remember to confess
as the strings soar.
If there were stars, I would count them
But the raindrops will have to do.
Either way, I just keep breathing.
Counting down to my place of return:
Where I am safe and whole
Nursing the poet, so terrified
Yet still compelled to sing
After all this time.
When every melody
Fails
And you’re so far into the past
That everything is dark
Remember:
You’re the hero here.
This can’t be the end;
You shouldn’t be dying in the next room
And you shouldn’t feel alone.
“But if you are, dear Harriet…”
Keep crying out into the darkness.
Even if no one reaches you.
Fall apart, still,
If no one arrives to put you back together.
If you have to–
If the 9th prayer never comes,
Be strong this one last time
And save yourself.
Restart the universe if you have to.
NOTE: If you’re a fan of Earthbound/MOTHER 2, a bit of this may sound familiar. I also thought of a YouTube meme (and a bonus song).
It was almost too much grief
For one body to handle.
But this small one manages
Through pain of memory.
We won’t be
The same after this:
Through quiet streets
And worried speech
The world drifts to dreams.
What will I wake up to tonight?
Who will be left to greet my yawns?
This spacesuit-layer-thin
Is all that separates me from
My idle thoughts in the dark–
But I dream, propelled,
A shooting star
Away from everything.
Landside, I melt into my thoughts
Unrecognizable
As unknown quasars,
Unstable as three-star systems.
Gravity should
Discover and pull me free.
