All night I streched my arms across him, rivers of blood, the dark woods, singing with all my skin and bone ''Please keep him safe. Let him lay his head on my chest and we will be like sailors, swimming in the sound of it, dashed to pieces.'' Makes a cathedral, him pressing against me, his lips at my neck, and yes, I do believe his mouth is heaven, his kisses falling over me like stars.
Richard SikenYou wanted happiness, I canโt blame you for that, and maybe a mouth sounds idiotic when it blathers on about joy but tell me you love this, tell me youโre not miserable.
Richard SikenEventually something you love is going to be taken away. And then you will fall to the floor crying. And then, however much later, it is finally happening to you: youโre falling to the floor crying thinking, โI am falling to the floor crying,โ but thereโs an element of the ridiculous to it โ you knew it would happen and, even worse, while youโre on the floor crying you look at the place where the wall meets the floor and you realize you didnโt paint it very well.
Richard SikenFor a while I thought I was the dragon. I guess I can tell you that now. And, for a while, I thought I was the princess, cotton candy pink, sitting there in my room, in the tower of the castle, young and beautiful and in love and waiting for you with confidence but the princess looks into her mirror and only sees the princess, while Iโm out here, slogging through the mud, breathing fire, and getting stabbed to death. Okay, so Iโm the dragon. Big deal. You still get to be the hero. You get magic gloves! A fish that talks! You get eyes like flashlights!
Richard SikenA man takes his sadness down to the river and throws it in the river โโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโbut then heโs still left with the river. A man takes his sadness and throws it away โโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโbut then heโs still left with his hands.
Richard Siken