Departed

Over the moonshine, the both of us wept

while waves pulled slowly at the wandering shore

and wondered, as the stars our secrets kept,

if we could ask for just a minute more.




We were in the past before you spoke,

the salty air congealing in your lungs;

so when you breathed, your quivering voice broke,

and made your wrinkles smooth, your hair seem young.




Light by light, all the stars bid us ‘depart’

as I, rapt by the ending of your mind,

beheld the empty noise to stop your heart

and leave me with a lock; no key to find.




The sky turned pink before we said farewell,

so sure were we that we’d next meet in hell.