birth
and our lips our arms our throats
choked with the ashes clinging
greedily to our eyes
dried starfish grabbing for new life
with the moisture leaving black streaks
the back roads you'll take home with you tomorrow
while i'm still sleeping
yes we could stand here
feet planted in the wet gravel and wait
for the rain to melt us away
but we've both swallowed a bit
cough all night before we forget
this wasn't always a part of us
it wasn't always a part of us
copyright 1987 sue jeffers