Elsewhere

I know why it happens

(it’s because)

You’re magnificent

Brilliant in your aliveness

Pulling us in like gravity.

I know, too, that I’m lucky

(or was)

A random outcome

One of countless possibilities

In a universe only you understand.

When it happens

The pain

burns

jabs

rises

then falls.

---

I couldn’t put you in a box

Kiss the lid

Store you under my bed

I couldn’t make you

my keepsake.

---

She’s defiant

You’re alive

Your hands

on her feet

(later)

Your bodies

on the dance floor

It’s splendid

to watch.

---

The rage

fills

tugs

demands

to be fed.

---

(Shall I?)

(Must I?)

---

I can slip back into the shadows

merging with the soil

You’re beautiful

Wild

Just like you should be

And so is she.

---

Why does it hurt?

A curious thing, pain

enough to dig deeper

poke around

for answers.

It’s because

I’ve given you everything

and you still

go looking

elsewhere.