POETRY

Stay A Little Longer

“Stay a little longer,” they say.

Created on NightCafe Art Studio

My throat in the jaws of smoke,
black mold across my chest.
My lungs gasp for air.
The walls turn in their sleep,
my eyes remain awake.

I see through the window lattice;
the wheels turn and roll.
My eyes remain awake.

The morning songs become white noise,
the river becomes a long road of asphalt.
The grass wilts beneath my feet,
the meadows become patches of gravel.

Away, I run and run.
I sit upon the lap of a lonely tree.
Naked and bent upon ourselves,
Our eyes close.
Behind their lids, we see the bud of spring.
My eyelashes become long strands of grass,
and the tree smiles down at me.

When the north wind blows
through her hollow branches,
she curls her fingers around me.
She hides me in her palm,
she shields me and forgets herself.