A sideways smile

Sideways Smile              6/22/2017

All out

And all down

In a single great effort

We try

And we fail.

Leaping up

Without stretched arms

Straining as far as we can

To grasp

And hold. 

Inside our head

It is the same

As we build thoughts

In buildings

That no one can see. 

I string the words together

And hope they convey

This feeling

Of exertion and emotion

Raw, painful,

And beautiful. 

The sheer blast

Of who we are

More than what you can see

And measure. 

That slippery

And illusory feeling

That passes in an instant

When time

Stands still. 

A scar upon memory

That never goes away

Long after dreams pass

And anger fades.

At full cry

The bloom is vivid

And the world beautiful

Breathtakingly perfect

And immortal. 

And that is why

I try

Even though

Words fail

And my fingers slip.

I drink it up

And I drain it down

All of it good

Rich, thick, and pure.

Everything we see

And everything we have

Will one day

Disappear

And dissolve.

But the gift

That precious spark

Burns forever

Even in heartbreak

And even in the dark. 

The flicker

Is in the blood

And now I feel it surge

Fast and hot

And dripping on the page. 

Living well

And living full

Finishing strong

At the top of the hill. 

Gravity has no power

And death no longer smiles

Already defeated

And already afraid. 

It is me that smiles

And it is me that bleeds

A full blooded ghost

With everyone I love

And everything I need.