Love

September 2020

You looked a bit fragile on Tuesday morning

I had a premonition at work that you would flounder today

And when I arrived, I was right

He had already given up on your broken self

But I was not ready yet

I forced his white handkerchief down

And we fought hard to bring you back

Cleansing you with our stories told in their entirety

We restarted your heartbeat and heard it flutter like a small dove

You would survive another night

Fatigued, I fell asleep with you nestled between us

White tissue flittering in and out of my dream

Somewhere, a printed bat knew its memories would soon be ironed away

That Thursday evening I buried you in his shirt

We held each other and mourned for you in the flickering vending machine light

You lay peacefully without a stray crease

Sleeve over heart over bat wings turned angel wings turned eagle wings

As you visited Prometheus each night to peck at my eyes