II

It's like an itch I can't scratch,
Right between my eyes.
I can feel the solution hiding,
barely concealed under my skin.

And So the Universe Fell Down Around Me

Yesterday, in the serenity of snow,
I lay in the sled and stared up at the sky.
Crisp cool flakes fell down around me,
sent from the collective comfort of the grey sky.
Time stood still, and I knew it could last forever.

It felt like the universe was falling down around me.

Today, the pain in his eyes,
in his voice, in his sob.
I never thought that words could hurt me so much again.
Rummaging in the pantry later I found a can of yams.
I sat there on the floor and cried again.

It felt like the universe was falling down around me.

Long, Long, Long

I stood there alone, in the empty bathtub
And I felt the words drift over me
like the water running down my skin,
chasing each other down the walls,
running rivulets down the glass--

"Long, long, long."

Music I'd never heard before,
The words were so new but familiar,
Embedded in the very flesh of my being,
Idly pumping through my veins,
Inciting me to hit the wall,
and slide down
and close my eyes
as the song invaded my soul.

And so I sat there alone, in the empty bathtub,
while the song grew to a crescendo around me,
and I heard his drawn-out, last-breath word,
A long long.
In the dying echoes I heard a bug buzzing
All too near for comfort,
and I struggled to open my eyes.

As the next song began the spell was broken,
and I stood up and dried myself,
and I walked out.