the place where it rained

reflective stars swim in your eyes

i see you even now, trying to get back

to that place where the sun didn’t rise

and set every morning with a flat

dullness, a life with no prize

to give and no games to play; only a lack

of stamina, a weakened beat like a pulse

barely there, only holding on by a crack

in the veil of old age, of secrets and lies

of present and future, of forgotten smiles

~

take me back to the place where it rained

show me the symphony of your bliss

the way you recall it: how you swayed

under the lamplight after your first kiss,

or before—in your kitchen, you stained

your white shirt with cranberry juice; it’s

a small, strange memory of feigned

significance to you now, but if only this

body could remember how it felt

to make a mistake and laugh about it

if only words and joy could melt

everything else we hold close

away

~

the things that should be the same

are different now, glossed over by the

hand of time, swimming in the shame

we hold so close

you are afraid to be seen

i am afraid of your pain

let us embrace and wipe the slate clean

as we stand here now

in the pouring rain

in a familiar place

a looping scene

that has returned to us

let’s reclaim

our memories

as our own

~

raining only ceases sometimes

places never fold in virtue

everything held dear will chime

like bells, a message like a curfew

sweetness never was a crime

loneliness, never the way through

so let your child self stand and shine

they would always choose to save you