On the Way To Nowhere

When we laid under the lattice archway at that random Park we stopped at on the way to goodbye- We watched the sky burst apart through the flowers clinging to the rotting wood. I imagined the archway crumbling around us, And igniting our fouled bodies, Turning our husks into the cinder our ghosts craved. You said that you were glad we found this place. That you would always remember staring up At infinity with a man you found to be just As mysterious. Just as lovely. You didn’t seem to mind, when I laughed. But, I was grateful too. Somehow, I knew that I needed to take it in. At the end of that road. I’d probably never see you again. And, I didn’t. But, when I see flowers arch against the burning sky. I remember how content a decaying spirit can be, When surrounded by wilting flowers, and fading light. You’re probably a part of all that now. Recycled by the nature of dissipating inertia. You didn’t have much left in you. I had just enough to get you where you were going. Sometimes, I don’t know how I made it past that. Our conversations made me realize just how closely Our jaded paths wound. I think maybe, it was only because I have more to say. I wish I would have said it to you. Not that it would have made any difference. Maybe you would have found some comfort in it. As you became the petals, falling on the faces of Others, who have stopped on their way to nowhere. -James Kelley 2018