juxtaposition with winter

After Player


come back come back / come back my shivering fingers say as i free them from their gloves / come back i whisper to my breath as it escapes / like a ghost into the open hangar door of a Manhattan winter / lovers must have whispered the same / come back / as a ship left harbor / as their beloveds were carried toward the light / that bent over a foreboding horizon / who can say if i’ll ever see my lover again after our lips part / one last time & they depart for a city four states away / with so much dead tapestry to gut who’s to say / a field won’t open & pull us into its warm, waiting belly / the forecast predicts nothing / but death & still i am asked to bind myself in layers / before facing my own annihilation / like a casket fling me through this planet i say / with my hands on the cold metal of an A train / before it swallows & spits me up / in a different city the doors part & i belt the song baby come back as i ascend / out from ground headfirst then shoulders then whole torso / you can blame it all on me & who can speak of resurrection / without speaking of their homies? i surely cannot / nor can the band of squirrels emerging from the bare trees / digging through ice for old bounties / i won’t come to the function that marks your leaving but i will be sure to attend your return / camera’s mouth wide & teeth ablaze / i thought you had left me for good this time / i’ll say while touching a few fingers to your cheeks for proof / as if they were fresh leaves / darling, i thought you were gone