for R.L.

Sometimes memories hit hard, merciless and cruel,
But only because finally they can be honest;
Show and tell how things really went down
During those days that you were tumbling down

Head over heels, but not in selflessness,
Rather in a greedy hunger for the things
You couldn’t wait to hold, seize, take, slide
Out from the hesitant hands of the one who

Offered, eyes widened with wonder at your
Treacherous strange beauty and tempest,
A wildfire he wanted to tame but instead
Became lost inside, burned and consumed

Then flung aside as you spiraled further and
Further away desperate to pin down the
Elusiveness of life, the next light that glimmered
On the sea’s edge, you sped ahead forgetting

You still held things that belonged to him, forgetting
You still held his hand and so much more, because
Words and silent promises spilled from your lips into
His aching soul, filled his minutes and lines, and

Suddenly you awake on the other side of the sea
A thief and a robber with treasure dying in pieces at your feet.