do not compare your life to my pictures
I climbed a hundred mountains between
each take and fell from one hundred more
do not replace his face with yours
or make a wish and wonder what if
I am but an image on your screen
a gif in your mind a stranger in real life
if he talked to you. the way
you sometimes talk to him.
everyone would be concerned
Some days it feels delicate like a breeze.
could blow us apart or the sun wilt us away
other days. as rooted as an aged oak tree or
the foundation of a tower. grazing infinity with
its fingertips today is not one of those days.
and i still want to be with you.
how can i fear death
yet keep choosing it.
over life.
why do i feed it with
one hand. even as it
eats the other.
we held hands
with eyes closed
facing each other.
and for the first time we turned
standing sidebyside—
just two people
facing a journey
a creator
you think you have
already been and didn’t like it
so you never come back.
what if you were
never really there.
what if your head was
without your heart.
we rocky men. sitting here
in a circle in leather chairs
sharing our storms
all weathered and worn.
we rocky men. sitting here
as fast as glaciers move
across the earth
we move and melt.
we rocky men. standing here
in a circle in battle gear.
judgment smeared
across her face
like strawberry jam
and the knife still dripping
Mike Tannian, Troubadour 