BARE
by Fred Clavél
The floor right now is
A story of yesterday’s horses.
Once mighty memories
Are now the rough hewn bindings
On my cold, shivering feet.
I’m reaching for the silken surface of you.
The blood on my scarred palm
Will feel so right against your face.
But facing this bitter dark, I see
I simply don’t have the words to fight these phantoms.
Dear God, please don’t let me crystallize.
The sweetness of this new state
Tastes awful
When thrust against
The heated mist of what we once wrote.
Light blinds at both ends of this vein.
Light binds at the heart of this valley.
I’d rather sink than swim,
If swimming means wading in your tears.
I’d rather let it cave in all around me.
But in the space of this cave
No one can hear my screams, my cries.
My raw throat is a testament to my fractured heart
As it asks why this love can’t be
As perfect as the words on this page.
I’m facing another dawn without you.
Waiting as you set my world on fire.
But though this flame can’t rage eternal,
The warmth of your presence remains forever.
The power of your love remains always.
If this story ever spins backward
I’ll set a new pace with my tongue.
I’ll savor the seconds as I write.
And these words of black and white will never again fail
To show exactly what you mean to me.
