Valley of the Deer – January 2022

I lie, spirit dissolved,
in a narrow and forensic tomb
love lost from a book
Lord, take me before I die a second time

a railway of steel lines my body
with starlight and firewater
a paper pulp highway in my veins
a slow, racing pulse

the fisherman’s hook plucks my heart
overflowing with 38,000 dead angels
one follows your weekend stroll
one goes into your cherry wine

I swim calmly through time
to objectives hidden by cognizance
an informed response to the wind
grants me a wish of my own

follow the deer tracks deep into the valley
get down on your knees
let out a golden scream
and ask for death

a cloud of arrows surrounds my wit
protected by a maze of fire
I never thought it would come to this
I must’ve cut too many corners

stretch these dreams into my open eyes
and let me wander
free-falling through ancient gas stations
let me go of my worries

I need air to breathe
breath to fly
flies to kill
mind in complete terror

cut my tongue and leave me be
taste the invisible poison of life
september blooms faster than my insights
and slower than my torment

caged like a bird
forgotten by its owner
never born, never dead
all just remnants of a single starry night

empathy, God’s final favor to this world
will give me time in peoples heads
so let me ride out this wave till I’m allowed to drown
because I will die one dream from now