eulogy

     

for dani

rising,
     into my arms
like a wave

eager
      evaporating

                 breathless

the door bell rings

disturbing the
          pieces

(there was no one at the door besides, perhaps, a better decision that will leave me just as lonely as you)

and turning back
you have been
misplaced

it is not fear
that makes me need more
or less
than your perfection

but everything,
      it seems,
is a reason for goodbye

more than a memory
less than a presence

- your last wishes
coveting
         the shell of me

the sun sets
and you breathe fire

meaningless warmth
in the dark

dropping silence

as casual as last night’s newspaper
pilfered from the gray-brown carpet
in front of apartment 3b

the colour that
we have been
         becoming

in a riot of addiction
when the surgeon general says
your love causes cancer

but we all die young