the lion

uncomfortable

i am uncomfortable

the air is absent from my chest

my vessel tugs, weakly, away

the spirit drags it down

down into the ink

down into frigid rapids

swept away, control stripped, relinquished

to succumb would be bliss

but Earth cannot succumb,

it is chipped away

slowly

she cries out and no knight appears

she struggles, atlas heavy on her shoulders

and she sleeps, she waits

heart fortified for the long freeze

throne room sealed and hushed

but the waiting is long

and the reason is forgotten,

left on a tall shelf in a neglected library

a graveyard of dreams

covered in dust and avoidance

wake up

the call is left unanswered until it is silenced

all the while the stars march on

they fall into place one by one

ready to lead the way

waiting

and there it is

something adrift on the surface

up above, out of reach, unaware

a life preserver

the most vibrant hue of gray ever seen

now, crushed by the depths

the lungs remember

they remember what air is like

and they burn for it

they stir

the lion walks into the room

the pause

the silence

the slow fade of time

the weightless feeling

the nothing

the everything

and there it is

something small down below

glowing, burning bright

a cigarette tossed onto the side of the highway

a spark

a small ember

a runaway train fans the flame

the ground is set ablaze

every defense is brought down

they crumble like sandcastles under a wave

the flames dance up, out

they dance towards the stars

the sky is still there, after all

the fire spares nothing

destroying the old, the dead

making way for the new

the char and ash soften and fade away

the new takes root in the darkness

it comes to be

and then the light appears

a distant star

a mere speck across the canvas of night

but it opens its arms wider and wider until the dark flees

agony

the surface is split apart and

at last

a breath of air

in, in, in, all the way down

swift and complete

intoxicating

the relief

the ease

familiar

a reflection of another time, another place

what is not said is understood

i did not wait alone

for you were on the other side of the river

following the stars, your eyes closed in slumber

a song that will not be silenced

what is not known is felt

let me be your eyes

so i can gaze on you longer

so i can look away

tell me what you see

because i am blinded

take my hand

lead the way

i will follow to the ends of the world

i will stay

with our fingers intertwined breath comes

easy and forgotten

when you hold my hand i am the air itself

i am freed from the weight of my being

and i fall

every day i fall again

and again you catch me

you wrap me up in your crown

you shield me from the rain

you carry me when i am weary

you scare away the shadows in the night

and you whisper

you whisper curiosity into my soul

and passion into my heart

so this is how it feels?

to fall

to fall fast

into the flame and not the water

it has been but one moment

but to me, all of them

it has been but one breath

but that is all i need

and there, an echo from the past

the call

wake up

i wake

i wake and i look into the golden eyes

of the lion