The Pain of Memory

Don’t you remember what it was like,
Back before you knew about this life,
When every day was an exploration,
And not just a waving voyage to a fight.

what I remember
is the blood on the floor
cries of horror from the door
the pain of tragedy for hours
and feeling sick at the flowers
they picked to remember
what I hoped to forget

So watch out for the worse things still,
And if you won’t, then trust that I will.

what need is there to watch
for the gripping fear that is before me
in the daylight when I still see
the sight of those lifeless eyes beneath
staring up and condemning me
for what I can’t bear to speak about
even so far out beyond that life

So let us stand tall against this together.
but I can’t while I fear I’ll remember forever
_____________________
With the release of every chapter of Below the Land, I will be posting a companion poem. This is the poem related to Chapter 19.

Let It Go Dear, He Said into the Swift

The swift rush
of breeze through the end
of leaves and branches
into the air
we wait for the bursting.
Now onward towards the hills
of Ozark country and then
to the flat land of the orphan
and the song she sings.
My heart is a room with room
for this warmth.

But too much gold in your hull
And you sink with the ship.

And what was said
What was done
Here it is
There it will be now,
Don't you see how it can be how it was
How we are
You don't understand
You
You and me and our
Life that wasn't a love a hate
Instead of it all
Instead of a was that was what we wanted.
To be.

Give me miles of tall oak trees and a place of my own.
The swift rush of breeze
to seize the day
away from what we wanted.
And peace in the swift breeze
to let it go.