Men We Reaped

Inspired by Jesmyn Ward

I wish I could tell you how I mourn your innocence,

how I pray for a shield, 

rather than an umbrella to keep you dry during the storm. 

I wish I could tell you that numbness

Is nothing but a blind sedative, 

How it leads to darker bruises and deeper cuts. 

I wish i could explain to you how ice thaws,

How particles will release themselves from their 

Rigid vibrations and become faster.

How they will move away. 

I wish I could tell you that love isn’t pointless,

That lightning and stars glow the same way.

That these scars are ugly but wounds are painful. 

I wish you knew how days will pass

How your skin will wrinkle around your eyes, 

and how your fingernails will grow. 

I wish i could tell you how life will move forward

Not chronologically, but in zigzags and mountains.

But I am not that eloquent. 

So I sit there and 

smile.