naked under an open sky
you missed me
seeing only the appearance
of my shape
you never realized
the flash in my eyes meant
it was too late already
despite the time
the changes
the inevitable losses

living in a lacquer of hindsight
dressing the past tense
in colors made of reasons
a shiny luster covering
the pain of wounds
that never heal
taut with incompleteness
no relief
no closure
a band-aid for the weeping
no tale could tell
and do justice

the ache just sinks deeper
into the dregs of existence
why’s and how’s this all came to be
and you lock with the meanings
entangle with the weight
of control and submissions
how many times you have been under
sweep over the feelings
impotence grief rage
the thousand thrills
what’s left behind is
memory

elusive and slippery
the years like tides
coming to go out again
slowly erode the urgency
the vibrancy of a present gone
there’s no recapturing
the cutting starkness
in the now
once it’s faded
all that keeps it alive
is believing it is more
than last night’s dream