This I Know

To Lou~

The wind chimes within my ribs are made of red accordion keys
Swiftly ripped out from their treble home
And tied to a wire coat hanger with string
Suspended in a city with no gentle breezes to stir them to song,
Hovering in a stillness held by frosty hands.

Some say I chose you; that you could hold up to me
What I needed to see so that I could play again
After hatred’s clenching silence had left me
And I could move to the music once more.

Time and a lack of words came between us
They formed a sweeter rhythm between our mad hearts.
Hours passed, then years in which there was not a soul
Who moved me like your absence moved me;
And I listened hard to hear candor and tenderness
In your indiscernible murmurs from another shore.

One day your voice found me at a music lesson
When I tried to make sounds with my clumsy instrument;
I found I could not fight you and win anymore.
So I let go and felt your lips blowing warm breath
Into the keys of my heart. They rustled like a thousand linden leaves
In a song of terrifying beauty I sensed through these stubborn tears.

And as I look into my face in the mirror
And your almond eyes and wolfish eyebrows stare back at me;
An echo of your visage imprinted upon me in a simple melody.
Then anger breathes out its tired sigh
And departs, and I cannot hear the solemn silence anymore,
Only this music danced by my heart, mind and bones.
This I know.