after the dream had failed
piss-poor under the driving rain
(the wish, too, wished away)
the car skidded left, sliding
through black ice, car frosted
with indrawn breath, car voices
moved from silence to silence
but you recovered, even
without a seat belt, kept on living
despite desperate prayer
laughing at death, at your face
in reflection, you turned back to us
said we were going to see mom
in the hospital, all together
said: "Let's make sure we all
have our stories straight"
("this time" unvoiced, voice
fresh bruise enough for us)
and I hated you and loved you
and wished - so hard! - but you
didn't - wouldn't - die
We Were Found
ReplyDeletein the burning wreckage
where dreams flared
(wishes burst brightly too)
the building collided with
a large commercial jet,
which really was more parody
than one might expect
but everyone was ok, really,
it was only a 1:32 scale
model of the plane
and death found it amusing
most of all a window was
broken, and you turned to us
saying what poor taste
said: "Let's report this
to someone" ("this time"
we voiced, we'll make sure
Ron hears about it too)
and I hated you and loved you
and wished--so softly!--but you
did--imaginatively--die