epitaphin the endwhen i'm almost goneand all i've leftis a red lampand a ragged songto pave my wayinto the thunderstormlet every raindrop murmuri loved you and lostnothing but emptinessand the companyof ghosts
if death is a sentenceif death is a sentence,let mine beworth reading slowlyin the early morningand bring to your heart,my dear,the ebb and swellof the sea
even then(exhausted by shame)even then (exhausted by shame)i felt the pull (the undeniable grasp)of my other selffollowing the rain throughnarrow prison windowsto fill the ravine of my mindwith the color of your skinwhose freckleslead my blood to my hands (lead your name to my lips) to write(say)"if i am a criminal (as all who live are)remove my reflectionstain my skin grey as timedo all within the reach of justice (lifeless words carved on stone)to tear away my tongueand murder my protestationson the concrete floori still bleed red"and behind the exhaustion of my eyes
A Life RevisedI was the baby born ofSpring and Summer,arriving too late to be coldbut too early to be burnt.Once I held a silver fish in my handsand watched it wriggle under the wateruntil I let it escape into the shallows.Lost more friends than I can count on a fingerbut made just as many that I won't lose.I've nursed a fallen blue-jay chick back to healthonly to watch him die the next day.I've only seen one snowstormbut I've seen more rainstormsthan most people can say.Years ago, I saw a bat crawl aroundon my sister's headand did nothing but call my father.I used to have three good friends:one tall and dark-haired,th