moving on

 

you wear your bones

on the outside now.

the smile that once danced

at all our parties,

now a recluse.

folded arms protect the place

where I once died

a past eternity of joys

 

you spit formalities begrudgingly,

take every chance to turn your face -

still managing to leave

a shadow of

contempt.

 

i knot my tongue,

stem the flow of words;

worthless now, disarmed

and dulled with use.

 

we are comfortable in

these awkward silences.

no shared joke or

familiar look

dare steal these

heavy seconds.

 

we are here now.

past years have blurred

and all our knowing

lies undone;

all passion

spent on barbs

and buttresses.

 

and once a week

we watch the children skip

the fraying tightrope

that we struggle to hold.

 

our memories sleep

untroubled ��"

two distant lives away,

but still shiver

in these bitter winds.

 

walking in whiteout,

compass broken,

no footsteps to retrace

 

and no home to go to.