22 November 2011

Below the heavens

There is this place

below the heavens,

where broken hearts go to be fixed. 

They are brought in to the back of a used bookstore

by people with grey skins 

and cracked lips 

who come bearing their pieces 

in the centre of their cupped hands. 

They all want the same things

put me back together please,

I'm tired of the darkness,

I want to remember how to laugh again.

But for some it's a little harder

to be told  

you're missing a piece, 

come back when you've found it. 

These unfortunate few 

shuffle out, overwhelmed,

too tired to raise their arms

to block out the blinding sun. 

The one at the back has seen it all

sitting hunched behind his counter

surrounded by his tools and the memories

of all the broken love stories

he had to first feel 

before he could get started. 

Sometimes he sees them 

on the streetcar, at the grocery store, by the post office. 

For some he can tell they have healed,

perhaps they met someone new

because their skin glows

as if the sun lent them a few rays. 

But his eyes are always drawn 

to the ones lost in thought

still grey, dry and cracked

like shrivelled raisins

left at the back of the pantry,

forgotten. 

No comments:

Post a Comment