I saw a dead squirrel on my way to work today.
Its open eyes reminded me of the emptiness within.
The world was suddenly a fragile dream
where death walked with me
and it made me think of you.
It made me think --
of all the lifeless birds and rabbits
insects, human beings --
At times, surrounded by fuss and pretense
At times, just left to rot.
Listen.
I missed you when I was a soldier.
My world was smaller, yes,
but my heart was filled with things to say.
And you were not there to listen
to the list of lifeless things I saw
on my way to work.
And you should know this by now:
Inside my being is a dark place
that remembers --
the grasshopper that got crushed under my father’s shoe
one sunny day when everyone was happy.
He was taking me out to buy me a toy
and he did not mean to kill the poor thing.
Death reminds me of you --
You who are so full of life and color and light and love.
It reminds me of you because it makes my heart skip a beat
and you, my love --
You do the same.
Listen.
Sorrow walks beside me every day with its magic and its dread
and you, who have shown me the house of love
with its magic and its dread --
You walk into my world everyday
and with your glances, smiles, eyes, heart --
You make the darkness go away
until heavy weights are lighter,
and the lifeless deserts in my heart blossom into flowers,
and I hear laughter and stories
of people who smile through it all
and I tell myself that the squirrel simply left
for a kind, gentle world
where things are so beautiful
that it refuses to blink.
And that is why dead things that I see
on my way to work
make me think of you.
The image was acquired from pixabay.com. Thanks are due to @authorofthings for making this sound better than it did.