The summer he expired was the summer she thought hard
About the Autumn breezes in his hair,
And the Springtime words she locked away.
The winter was cold, yet side by side they flourished.
Pokemon cards and stolen kisses on cheeks.
Tree forts and dance battles.
Makeup and gowns.
Homework and swimming pools-
The life he left behind.

As she thought, she held her face taunt.
Her thoughts escaping through her cracked skin facade.
I asked her today, a year after passing, "do you miss is smile, his laugh, his presence? Does the loss hold grief in it's grip?"

She glanced away then held my gaze, and suddenly I knew the world had churned on.

Hands reach out
digits intertwining
flicking upon the mind's
dark consoles of thought
desperately imploring
searching for answers
needing to express and explore
wanting a hands-on approach
to the endless dilemmas of life

Capture me
with your voice
let it to my ears
instil a thrill
let it wash my soul
with its timbre
let its strength
calm my fears
in its tone I hear
all that a voice could
ever contain
the sun’s warmth
the soul’s wash
of the gentle rain
capture me with your voice
hold me
enthrall me, captivate me
thrill me now

How?
How do people do it?
How do people smile, drive cars,
buy loaves of bread,
read the paper, go to school,
go to jobs, go to church,
eat sushi, talk on cell phones,
drink coffee?

How do they ****,
**** and *****?
How do they
get their
shoes shined,
stand in line,
comb their hair,
brush their teeth,
go to the theatre,  
the circus, the carnival?

How do they do
these things and  
so much more when
babies, innocent- beautiful
babies, are born into this
brutal world,
where parents die,
where feral cats carry off
little birds that fall from  
the nest,
where best friends die,
O.D, get hit by cars
drowned or
die from some
strange brain thing.

How do we eat
chocolate, watch football,
and build snowmen?
How do we
visit the zoo,
go to the moon
copulate
*******
******* and
procreate
when hearts still
break,
Sweet Jane dies.
The walk on the
wild side ends,
and the letters we
send get returned?

How do they do it ,
when
dogs get hit by  
cars,
****** roam the bars,
the Dodo’s extinct and
wackos still brutalize
children?
How do people do it?
How do they carry on?

She said "I'm falling in love."

I said "I'm falling apart."