Edward Palmquist

Wilted from the evils of time
petals drift to the ground.
I lay out my hands to catch them
the tears of a true beauty.
I’d die to save it from this crumbling world
a flower named you.

As the sun melts into the sea
I start to understand
what happened to you and me
the blood that stains these hands.
The injuries inflicted had grown to be too much.
So why now more than ever should I want to feel your touch?

Everything is so blurry.
these tears
the truths the new day will bring.
Today is corroding
by the mistakes we made yesterday.
Even now as I can hold you in my arms,
slowly and quietly
we’re drifting apart.

It was raining that night…
I couldn’t sleep much.
It seemed like the only thing that was real was you…
but even that I couldn’t call mine.
Mine… such a selfish word…
or is it instead the lips that form it that are so selfish?

I’ve been trying to put into words
these things I must tell you.
I can’t just keep ignoring your questioning eyes.
The truth
These words are not for you
They never were.

My god is different…
My god is what I’m holding in my arms.
It’s the sweet scent of your hair
as you lie here still asleep.
My god is complicated like your hands
yet as simple as their touch.

This reflection has become smeared
by this dizzying metamorphosis.
The power struggle of the old and new
is keeping me awake at night.
It seems that I’m near my breaking point
yet I keep picking away at what I was
in hopes of what I could be.

I should die…
for these hands have hurt you
and my words are like salt on your wounds.
These pages of your life are blotted out by
my name.

I can hear it now.
Your words have given new meaning to the dream.
Your cheers plotted the course
Your cries warned me of what’s ahead
Your love gave me the strength to face it.
All lessons desperately heeded by these ears.

So where do I go now?
This map you gave me is all but crumbled
like this world.
What good are these wings
without your guiding wind?

I’m beginning to take heed of the warnings.
The mistakes I made back then
will help me build a better future.
I’ve promised myself I’ll do things right
this time…