The tick of the clock.
Those passing seconds that made
everything so much more
Dangerous.
I was on the verge on not being there
Anymore.
You were fast on your way to going entirely
Somewhere Else.

It panned out like anything else would.
The decision passed between two people
and landed on a “yes.”
We stood still and allowed brown flaky
Snow
to descend on us and surround us.
It covers up all your wounds, you know.
Makes everything bearable and
Tolerable.
Happy, even. For once.

So we took up the tools needed and
continued on our way.
You were first in line
because you always are.
And you know how to get me
where I want to go.

Then I ran there. Not stopping for directions.
Missing all the signs
in between completely on purpose.
Mustard Brown
shot through the core of me.
Here I go.

There everything went wrong.
So wrong that the mundane movements of
the mouth to make words were taken away from me.
But I had to keep running.
You can’t stop in the middle. Physics, anatomy,
biology, and all the laws of earth and science forbid that.
Decisions are made to be kept.
Once the momentum gathers, it can’t be undone.
But you can be completely unraveled.
And I was.

The universe spun slowly and
Pitch Black
around me. Allowed me to sleep
while I was carried off.
Love,
grabbed my hand gently.
Picked me up off the couch,
kept me close in eyesight all the way.

You had a sharp sword and strong hands;
powerful enough to dominate over
Death.
Held me and rocked me back and forth
until I could speak to you.
Eventually the night ended
just like it began-
the two of us and a decision
to move on with our lives.

These words are real to me and
I am still real to you.