the leaves
are a vibrant confetti;
a party
is raging
against the asphalt
and i am wondering
if you’ve seen
them,
those leaves.
i imagine
finding you
out here
(where you are not, i know)
and i imagine your hands
on my face
i imagine that relief, that redemption, that grace of safe-
that fear, that catch in my breath, that distance i can’t resolve, that question i have about that break – is it far too broken now?
this daydream goes on
amidst the embers
the orange and burgundy
and bright red and yellow
there is so much future in the past,
i keep questioning
what i was supposed to learn
along the way
about this
your hands are no where near
this warmth
that burns for you
so it keeps catching
the wrong things on fire
burning little angry holes into perfectly good passerbys
smoldering on my skin,
darkening with smoke the air around me,
dusting ash along the path i can’t figure out how to stray from
(it has yet
to die out).
