three

i.
in plumes of bitter smoke
I went dangerously close to the sky
expanded like a crying lung
the wax on my wings starting
to melt

so I closed my eyes
thought desperately about you
to keep from feeling

unreal

ii.
I found myself
in the exposed spot
beside your jawbone
let my breath out
we
existed

iii.
our minds collected dust
in all the same corners
our insanities rhymed
as we struggled
with the altruism
of existing
without knocking the
microscopic feathers
off the wings
of butterflies

iv.
this very second
I'm trying to escape
from the world around me
this noise, this distraction
so I can focus
on all the things
you said to me

because maybe
I will misplace them, maybe
I will forget the way I felt
when you looked at me
when I didn't know how to handle myself
didn't know where to place
my feet
didn't know where to place
anything, really