By Shadygirl   fading_shade@hotmail.com
Date: 18 February 1999

Listening for yur Breath

You are sleeping now.
I can almost hear your even breath
Although you are literally
Miles upon
Miles
Away.

Maybe you are not alone.
Maybe she is not asleep.
Maybe she is touching your lips
Feeling your life 
On her fingertips
Pretending you are real
The way I used to.

Perhaps she is soaking 
In your warmth,
A bubble bath of blankets
And misty sweat.
Perhaps she is picking up
All of the limp
Fragmented
Promises you threw at her
And nurturing them
Like a mother would her
Dying runt child.

Or could it be
They have taken you from us
And the earth of your future
Is being dug.
Could it be
Your heart was halted
With the aid of some pill
Or powder.
Could it be
You are not invincible.

But then,
That was something I'd expected
And 
That was something you hadn't
Liked.

So I listen
Again
For your even breath
And pray the night
Has not overcome you.