I remember
Rough rope knots digging into aching flesh
Dappled light
Sour sweetness of salted skin seasoning
the scent of the clematis.
Top to toe, resting the rest the wicked rest.
Smoking and full of schemes.
Each time we contemplated the notion of eternal life
It was always on the premise that we'd both be there.
Still raising hell, climbing trees, eating flowers,
Sharing woes and being proud of our adventures.
Lessons dissected over wine and cigarettes
Are better learned and it diminishes regrets.
I won't forget.
“We're survivors. We survive. That's what we do, me and you”
That's what you said.
And you meant it at the time.
And every other time because you'd needed to remind me
When you'd rescue me from yet another trap.
Knight in shining dreadlocks,
Penguin onesie,
Wooly jumper
You taught me
So
Much.
Now
Education incomplete
I stand depressed, by life defeated
Hollow hearted, eyed and cheeked.
It hurts
How fucking dare you go without me?!
We had plans. We said we'd meet
When beards and tits both touched our feet.
Verandas, rocking chairs.
Our spouses friends, our kids alright
And even grandkids if we played it right.
And now
There's too much time without you.
I don't know who I will go to
Just to tell my honest, open, truth.
You were the one who never judged
The one who gave me back my buzz.
And you gave me your St Christopher.
I gave it back, though; unlike you -
My favourite clothes all taxed and strewn
In far flung corners of your trotted globe.
We owned each other’s lives you said,
My home was always ours, my bed
“The velvet palace” yours instead
Whenever you had need.
But now you'll never see this one
Nor the man my boy's become
Nor the firecracker your girl will be.
Seven days in sunny June.
A lifetime shared, imbibed, consumed.
Drawn to light,
too much, too soon.
But now your tattered wings are flying free.
