Go, Young man, Go

This morning I became
beautifully lonely
stunningly aching
You should have seen it

Middle aged women wearing better clothes
alone with a coffee and an emptiness
Everyone recognizes me from days ago
I am shocked by their memories

Harp over the voices of many
The song I wrote for you stuck
in my head
It's soft and it's sorrowful
You should have heard it

And in the moment of alone
my nose began to bleed
I did not scream, I did not cry
More than horrified,
more than sad
I closed my eyes and let it write
you a letter in red

Only you can read it,
only you can blink
I can only bleed
and pour it into some words
words meant for you and
only you

Cherish the will
and the wisdom of the air around me
Just when I start to sleep
a breeze comes by and adores me

And do not cut me loose
like a tangled whale
and then not escape to your fate

Do not linger here in my ocean
like a jewel of the past
and an anchoring memory

Do not play like the end of
a song,
just to reveal that the ending
is too long

And run away to the place you promised
go, young man, go!
Cast away your love and go to the sea
go to the salt of the Earth,
the winter is almost upon me.

And bundled and swathed in
sweaters and blankets, hunched over
a painting and cup of tea
I'll be writing

And above this cup of steeped green
I will build my self-worth
beyond the death and dying of my body
beyond the pouring of my life
beyond the pouring of my love
into these words.