*

Though We've Fallen

by Scott Kurtz

Though we've fallen (me from you)
I still think about you every day.
I try to talk to you, but my tongue
My lips, my teeth, my throat
My lungs get in the way.

There's a whole lot of skin
Red blood cells and white
Blue in my face when it's cold or I can't breathe
Black underneath my fingernails sometimes
And in my eyes.

I don't need the alphabet at the top of the page
I've outgrown it, but I do it anyway
I need the corner of the room - the wall - the bed.
I need to be covered by blankets - surrounded.
I need to have no one in the house. No one to blame.

Do you have a clue how much I love you?
How much I want to play for you all night?
How much I want to play for you all night
And all day and all night and all day again?
But my hands: my fingers: (cracked)
My strings: (all snapped) (and out of tune)
My fucking words get in the way.

And again there's so much skin
So much technique - there's so much left
To be desired - hiding my face
Please come and save.