And I had a dream that night
Of the first day of the last year I would know you
The first day of the last year before you opened your mouth
And locusts came out
And your eyes shut
And we were both afraid.
The last year I could love you like I loved the crawdads in the creek
No cause for hate
As they passed through my open fingers
I was watching them swim down
Knowing they would come back
And that despite cycle,
Despite absence,
Despite silence,
We could not hurt one another.
But then it did start to hurt.
Silence hurts worse when you know what it has taken place of.
Absence hurts worse when it is not your own.
Cycle hurts worse when you think it will change.
The last year that when I jumped out of slow-rolling cars
Or read something that made me think of you
Or sat on the curb in the cool evening
To watch the moon curdle the clouds with its light
Or heard the songs you told me you hated on the radio
It was the first day of the last year that in everything inconsequential, I would think of telling you.
In the dream you revealed yourself
And showed me that despite it all
You were only ever what you said you were.
I could only be ashamed.