i told you i would

from a youth spent starving and drowning
emerges a child
with two hands firmly gripped on the wheel
with nail marks charting the evolution
of my voluntarily rising waters
and subsequent lack of a visionary’s image
to mark it with a sure hand
quiet the cries of these hands and hearts
that longed for less than reflexive actions
or impulsive and erratic breathing
i want to be light upon my feet
and oh how you cried when you discovered
that i was deeper than that rope you carry
white hot hope in your sketch of stars
it makes me pray for blindness
to disappear like fingers snapping
just like it sounds
into your dim-lit corridor
where exists greed for indulgence
no pride for the restless
no prize for the guesswork
empty sterling rewards for the weary
what possesses you to seek this?
we framed two for every one that gave us an idea
we raised two glasses just in case
now i dance our taunting steps
from here to where you stand...

but you’ll never understand
i dream in richer color than you
i have proven it’s possible
in the world you forbid me to enter
i have passed the place where you stood
tilted my head to the moon
and let my spirit echo across your empty heart
with an air you can’t bear to see
blue eyes focused on your insatiable urge to deliver me
but i’m already alive