i never miss a lost second

it was gone and while missing

i missed another-

i felt that when your smile first touched mine

in the moments when you were gone

i was lost time

robbed from a bully with a checklist on his forehead

guilt was checked

depression was checked

and loss was next

but i found a way to make time stand still-

when your smile touches; mine

it feels like a sunshine airline

so close to the gods i can hear their stories

your voice calm and sedative

i can count the seconds in between my fingers

they choose to linger when your smile touches mine

and when they ask

when the kids gather to ask how i can stop time

i will tell them

i can’t show them this trick

without my wonderful partner

rounding up the usual suspects

when the rounders are rounder

round-up

you know who ate the oreos

the thieves rounded

two-thirds free

and one

one that will be held accountable

but walk free

time is only wasted

when with the wrong people

time does not exist

when with the right ones

it flies like a jet

with a bang

two or three times

i counted the hands of the clock on the wall-

i know there is two

normally two

but time stopped

i wanted to be anywhere else but here

if the clock had an extra hand

i would know

i would be dreaming

(nightmare)

but the clock has two hands

and i am still stuck

nothing my own

except these hands

bound by time

wandering the barricaded park

down on fourth past the ballpark

flowers grow on both sides

the ones incarcerated grow taller and live longer

the free ones are taken by strangers in the night

just as the sprinklers quit

a rainbow connects the flowers

just for a minute or two

when my phone rings

my belly cats purr

the sound of the bells

jingles through my paws

your voice is like a box

can get lost in time

running your hands through my hair

safety in your paws

i’ll fall asleep.

 

new years come and the winter has come early

cold to the touch,

i would give anything for a lighter-

for you to hold me close

to let me in over the threshold

instead of an eye on the knob

and an eye on the window.

peaking

wondering what the wonder of the wonders is going on inside.

i wasn’t always an on the outside

but i can’t remember what the inside looks like.