by Margaret Emma Brandl
And when it was all said and done,
We hurled ourselves through the night streets,
Howling to the moat of a darkened castle,
Slogging through mud and past bright white gas stations.
In a dark room with candy colors
We screamed our lungs out, gorging on sugared soda and ice cream.
We leaned into each other. We grasped for things.
We dragged ourselves down pathways.
And our whispered conversations were carried on the wind
Away from our ears,
And our morning’s memories came back into our hearts
It was midnight, and then it was not.
Sharp winds stung at eyes that would not cry tears
Even staring at that stone skeleton lit
Beyond a tongue of flame reflected in waters and stones,
So beautiful, so beautiful,
So quiet,
And there we were.
We hurled ourselves through the night streets,
Howling to the moat of a darkened castle,
Slogging through mud and past bright white gas stations.
In a dark room with candy colors
We screamed our lungs out, gorging on sugared soda and ice cream.
We leaned into each other. We grasped for things.
We dragged ourselves down pathways.
And our whispered conversations were carried on the wind
Away from our ears,
And our morning’s memories came back into our hearts
It was midnight, and then it was not.
Sharp winds stung at eyes that would not cry tears
Even staring at that stone skeleton lit
Beyond a tongue of flame reflected in waters and stones,
So beautiful, so beautiful,
So quiet,
And there we were.