you impress me, you know
with your large vocabulary of multi-syllable words
as i chart the existence of my ribcage and vertebrae
there is a hugeness in the way you write
a grace and a grandeur not learned
that must come from an everlastingness of thought
transmuted from manic inactivity
i’m whittling down to the bones that hang me together
curious if someone else will pop out
from the shed excess of body i’ve tended
you’re fearlessly good at hiding
although whether it’s concealment
or an unknowing of expressionism
i have yet to decipher
perhaps we are alike in a loss for words
at the crucial moment of confusion
and uncertainty — language betrays
and leaves us mutely blinking, mouthing pleasantries
how can i say something i don’t know
or why does it matter?
life goes frighteningly, blessedly on
in the face of stammering
if you find my skeleton bury her gently
and i will bury yours soft beneath sand
these are already dead, remember
put your words in the mouth of the phoenix
listening to its cry of triumph
pain, rebirth
such are we
so are you
