Time as Liquid

Time as Liquid

They fell slowly at first,

brought on by the scraping of knees

that landed hard,

bitten by dust and playground pebbles.

tiny droplets of poured over howls

plink

plunk

plink

plunk

a moment spilt, evaporated in the sun,

and wiped up with tender embrace.

Then came the torrents

down my jaw in salted testimony

when paper hearts

were torn in two

by naive hands to young to hold them.

plink

plunk

plink

plunk

a moment spilt, leaving water marks,

smudging ink, and blurring lines.

Then came the ache, dressed in black,

decades blinked into tissues

from kept memories that kept finding their way

out from beneath my tear ducts.

grief, overflowing antique crystal cups,

leaving ring stains on wooden floors.

plink

plunk

plink

plunk

a moment spilt in slow salt-worn drops,

as if eras don't leave puddles

that we find ourselves longing

to dip out toes in.

Perhaps this is why ocean rise;

we are just hourglasses,

cracked, and leaking.

plink

plunk

plink

plunk

moments spilt, dripping saline sentiments,

and you cannot rewind

what evaporates.