SPEAK

When it comes,
It isn't unexpected.
We are eclipsed for
A moment by the shadow
Of everything we tried
To push behind us -
A handful of uncertain
Moments like spare change
We can't afford to lose.
"I remember everything" -
Whispered like a
Secret in the dark.
And your words crash
Against my soul,
Scattering shards of
Bone dust on the
Parts of me only
Words can reach.
"If things were different" -
If... an unresolved chord
At the end of a hymn,
A dangling "A" with no "men".
But "if" doesn't preclude "when",
And there isn't a
Stairway to heaven.
Our prayers are
Melancholy and nostalgic,
Just a bite of frost
To make them stay -
A dramatic dive off of
Whatever ship this is
That is sinking beneath us -
Plunging into the deep.
And when words won't come,
The rest of you speaks.